EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Child Care

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to promote choice and diversity in the provision of pre-school child care; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to assist local authorities to deliver affordable pre-school child care; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to increase parents' access to flexible pre-school child care; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The Government are committed to maintaining a diverse and vibrant child care market where providers from the private, voluntary, independent and maintained sectors work together in support of children and families. The new duties in the Childcare Bill will require local authorities to assess child care needs within their area, find out what parents want, and try to meet their needs. This will deliver choice and maintain diversity, responding to the needs of parents who—perhaps because they work atypical hours—are looking for flexible child care.
	All three and four-year-olds are currently entitled to 12 and a half hours of free early learning and child care, and by 2010 this will have increased to 15 hours. Parents will be able to use the free entitlement flexibly enabling them to balance work and family life more effectively. From later this year pathfinders will test delivery mechanisms to ensure that parental demand for increased flexibility can be met without driving smaller settings out of business. The findings from the pathfinders will inform the roll out of the extension in hours and flexibility by 2010.
	The duty in the Childcare Bill to secure sufficient child care which is eligible under the child care element of the working tax credit will help to improve the affordability of child care by providing greater access for families to the financial support available through the tax credits system. During 2005-06, the level of investment in the child care element of the working tax credit was more than £2.4 million a day, benefiting around 356,000 families. This year the maximum proportion of costs that can be claimed through tax credits increased from 70 per cent. to 80 per cent. We are also tackling high child care costs in London through a pilot programme being run jointly with the London Development Agency and the Greater London Authority which will deliver an additional 10,000 child care places for families on lower incomes.

Child Care

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will recommend Hertfordshire's model for the delivery of Phase 2 child care centres to other county councils and public sector providers; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 19 June 2006
	I understand that Hertfordshire county council is still developing its children's centres implementation plan. Each local authority has strategic responsibility for developing children's centre services in its own area. We have issued guidance to help local authorities do this, including examples of good practice. However, detailed plans will be based on an individual authority's own assessment of the needs of children under five and their families in the area, including the levels of disadvantage they face.

Head Teachers

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) head teachers and  (b) deputy head teachers have taken early retirement in each of the past three years.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The information is not available in the format requested.
	The following table provides the number of teachers in the leadership group, comprising head, deputy and assistant head teachers, who have retired early (defined as before the normal pension age of 60) on premature, actuarially reduced (ARB) or ill health grounds in each year from 2002-03 to 2004-05, the latest information available.
	
		
			  Early retirements( 1)  of teachers in the leadership group by year and type of award in the local authority maintained sector 
			   Premature  ARB  Ill-health  Total 
			 2002-03 630 490 370 1,480 
			 2003-04 570 720 370 1,660 
			 2004-05 480 830 180 1,480 
			 (1) Includes only teachers awarded pension benefits under the Teachers' Pensions Scheme.  Note: Data are provisional.  Source: Database of Teacher Records (DTR) and Pensioner Statistical System.

Higher Education

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many applicants aged  (a) 21 to 25 and  (b) over 25 had applied for courses in higher education institutions in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06 and (iv) 2006-07 in the April before the start of each academic year; and what the percentage change was in each year.

Bill Rammell: The available figures are shown in the table. They are taken from press releases issued by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) in April each year which summarise applicant numbers as at 24 March, for each of the age bands of under 21 years, 21-24 years, and over 24 years. The figures reinforce our view that the long-term trend of increasing university applications will continue. There was a larger than expected increase in the number of applicants for entry in 2005 and although the number of applicants for 2006 are down compared to 2005, they are above the numbers for 2004 entry. We experienced a similar dip in applications in 1998 when tuition fees were introduced, but numbers returned to their usual levels the following year and continued upwards thereafter. We expect this to be the trend going forward.
	
		
			  English-domiciled applicants by 24 March of each year, by age 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Under 21 
			 Number 240,417 243,710 263,856 253,439 
			 Percentage change — +1.4 +8.3 -3.9 
			  
			  21-25 
			 Number 23,295 23,776 26,248 25,317 
			 Percentage change — +2.1 +10.4 -3.5 
			  
			  Over 24 
			 Number 24,683 25,821 29,452 27,868 
			 Percentage change — +4.6 +14.1 -5.4 
			  
			  Total 
			 Number 288,395 293,307 319,556 306,624 
			 Percentage change — +1.7 +8.9 -4.0 
			  Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) Press Releases.

Post-16 Learning (Medway Towns)

Paul Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what Government funding has been made available for post-16 learning in the Medway Towns local authority area for each year since 1997, broken down by education provider; and how many young people in the area have attended courses providing key skills for employability.

Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) allocated nearly £108 million to providers in the Kent and Medway area for 2005/06, an increase of more than 5 per cent. compared to 2004/05. This does not include the funding for work based learning or Personal Development and Community Learning (formerly Adult and Community Learning). Information on the individual funding allocations for providers dating back to 2001 is available from the LSC website. Since 1997 this funding has increased nationally by around £2.5 billion—equivalent to 48 per cent. in real terms.
	Training for key skills is provided through the Key Skills Support Programme and aimed at post-16 learners. Up to September 2004, a total of 940,000 key skills qualifications had been awarded to over 570,000 individual learners.

Research Assessment

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he plans to hold research assessment exercises in 2008.

Bill Rammell: On 13 June, as part of the launch of the Government's consultation on future arrangements for higher education research assessment and funding, I announced that the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise would proceed as planned. The panels responsible for assessing individual subjects will be able to make greater use of research metrics alongside or instead of academic peer review if they deem this appropriate, provided that this would not place new data collection burdens on institutions.

University Admissions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of A-level students from the London borough of Havering secured a place at university in 2004-05.

Bill Rammell: The information requested is not held centrally.
	In 2004 there were 1,419 16 to 18-year-old A-level candidates in maintained schools and colleges in Havering local authority.
	The latest available figures on participation in higher education by local authority were published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in January 2005. The report, "Young Participation in England", shows participation rates for young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19, disaggregated by local authority, for the years 1997 to 2000.
	The figures for Havering local authority, and the comparable figures for England, are shown in the table. HEFCE have not produced figures beyond 2000.
	
		
			  Young participation rate (YPR (A)) in higher education in the UK 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000 
			 Year cohort aged 18 in Havering (Number) 2,850 2,970 2,890 2,750 
			 Participation rate for Havering(1 )(Percentage) 22 20 21 23 
			 Participation rate for England (Percentage) 29.2 28.8 29.2 29.9 
			 (1) Participation rates for local authorities are reported to the nearest whole number.  Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England. 
		
	
	The report is available from the HEFCE website at: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_03/
	The total number of entrants from Havering for each year since 2001/02 are given in the table.
	
		
			  Entrants to undergraduate courses at UK HE institutions, from the London borough of Havering 
			   2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05 
			 Aged 18-19 675 690 760 800 
			 All other ages 1,055 1,240 1,270 1,625 
			 Total entrants 1,730 1,930 2,035 2,420 
			  Note: Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	The Department uses the Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR) to assess progress on increasing first-time participation of English students aged 18-30 in higher education towards 50 per cent.: the latest provisional figure for 2004/05 is 42 per cent. The HEIPR is not calculated at local authority level.

University Applications

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many university applications have been made by students in the London borough of Havering in each year since the introduction of tuition fees; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The information requested is not held centrally.
	The available information covers the number of actual entrants to higher education, from the London borough of Havering, and is given in the table.
	
		
			  18-year-olds domiciled in the London borough of Havering entering higher education at UK higher education institutions 
			  Academic year  Number 
			 1998/99 440 
			 1999/2000 440 
			 2000/01 450 
			 2001/02 475 
			 2002/03 495 
			 2003/04 540 
			 2004/05 585 
			  Note: Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

University Students

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students normally resident in Scotland are attending university in England.

Bill Rammell: The information is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Scottish domiciled enrolments at English HEIs 2004/05 
			   Mode of study 
			  Level of study  Full-time  Part-time  Total 
			 Postgraduate 1,620 3,620 5,240 
			 Undergraduate 5,705 16,125 21,830 
			 Total 7,325 19,745 27,070 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are on a HESA Standard Registration Population basis. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: HESA student record data 2004/05

DEFENCE

African Union

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has made to  (a) African Union member states,  (b) the United Nations and  (c) NATO regarding African Union troops' rules of engagement.

Adam Ingram: Her Majesty's Government has made no recent representations to African Union member states, the United Nations or NATO regarding African Union troops' rules of engagement.

Army Continuous Attitude Survey

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors were taken into account when deciding to omit from the Army Continuous Attitude Survey September-December 2005  (a) question 61a,  (b) question 63a and  (c) question 66 included in the June-September 2004 survey.

Tom Watson: Questions 61a and 63a were removed from the survey because they were not providing an accurate measure of the levels of discrimination and bullying in the Army, or of the Army's commitment to issues of equality. They asked whether individuals believed that bullying and discrimination exists rather than whether they had direct experience of such incidents. Responses were therefore likely to be influenced by factors such as anecdotal evidence, media coverage and popular opinion as opposed to personal knowledge. Other questions related to direct experience remain.
	Question 66 was replaced by question 39c to give the respondent more opportunity to explain their reasons for not making a formal complaint and to provide a richer source of data for analysis.

Army Recruitment

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications to join the Army were made in each year since 1998; and how many applicants were successful in each year.

Tom Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer he was given on 21 July 2005,  Official Report, column 2110, for figures covering the period 1998-99 to 2004-05. Figures for 2005-06 are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Applications 36,430 
			 Enlisted 11,450 
			  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

BAE (Kuwait Contracts)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) contracts and  (b) variations of contract his Department has entered into with (i) BAE and (ii) its subsidiaries in respect of work carried out in Kuwait between 1 January 2003 and 30 June 2003.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 16 June 2006
	I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff in his Department did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report in each of the last three years; and what percentage this represented of the total number of staff in each case.

Tom Watson: These issues are dealt with at local level and to obtain this information from each unit would incur disproportionate cost. However, for those staff covered by the MOD main pay deal (around 66,000 staff) this information is captured at the end of the staff reporting year to inform pay rises.
	Figures for the last three years for which figures are available are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002-03 (1)40 
			 2003-04 64 
			 2004-05 120 
			 (1 )Excluding industrial staff who were not recorded in this year.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his staff are  (a) under and  (b) over 55 years of age.

Tom Watson: The number of staff who are under and over 55 years of age on 1 January and 1 April 2006 are shown as follows.
	
		
			  Headcount strength of staff under/over 55 years of age 
			   January 2006  April 2006 
			 Under 55 70,780 69,690 
			 Over 55 19,000 18,940 
			 Unknown(1) 20 30 
			 Royal Fleet Auxiliaries(1) 2,350 2,340 
			 Locally engaged civilians(1) 16,150 16,790 
			 Departmental total 108,300 107,800 
			 (1) information on the date of births of a small number of records, the Royal Fleet Auxiliaries and locally engaged civilians are not available centrally.  Note: The values and totals are rounded separately to the nearest 10 and the sum of the rounded data may not equal the rounded sum.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people over the age of 55 years have been recruited into his Department in each of the last three years.

Tom Watson: The number of people over the age of 55 years that have been recruited into the MOD in each of the last three years is shown as follows.
	
		
			  Headcount 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Under 55 when recruited 8,640 6,780 4,410 
			 Over 55 when recruited 940 690 410 
			 Unknown(1) 20 20 10 
			 Departmental total 9,600 7,490 4,830 
			 (1) A small number of staff have no date of birth recorded.  Notes: 1. The values and totals are rounded separately so the sum of the rounded values may not equal the rounded sum. 2. These values exclude Royal Fleet Auxiliary and locally engaged civilians.

Gurkhas

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many casualties were sustained by Gurkhas serving with British forces in each campaign in which Gurkhas served since 1976.

Tom Watson: The information is not held centrally. We are consulting potential sources of information and I will write to the hon. Member.

Home Working

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people in his Department have been enabled to work from home in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The Ministry of Defence does not collect these statistics centrally and they could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Department promotes and supports a wide range of non standard working patterns, including home working, and encourages managers to accommodate staff requests to work differently whenever it is possible.

Met Office Reports (Oxfordshire)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library reports from the Meteorological Office on the weather in Oxfordshire on  (a) 15,  (b) 16,  (c) 17 and  (d) 18 July 2003.

Tom Watson: A summary of the weather in Oxfordshire on the days concerned, together with supporting data, will be placed in the Library of the House.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the reasons were for the delay in answering parliamentary question  (a) 69450 tabled on 3 May 2006,  (b) 68478 tabled on 2 May 2006,  (c) 67171 tabled on 26 April 2006,  (d) 65234 tabled on 19 April 2006 and  (e) 65233 tabled on 19 April 2006 by the hon. Member for Lewes; and when he expects to answer each question.

Des Browne: Parliamentary questions 69450, 68478, 67171 and 65234 were answered on the 16 June 2006.
	I will answer 65233 shortly.

Private Office Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid in  (a) salary,  (b) travelling expenses,  (c) subsistence allowance and (d) removal expenses to special advisers in his private office in each of the last five years.

Tom Watson: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers, including the number in each pay band. For information relating to the 2004-05 financial year I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, on 21 July 2005,  Official Report, columns 158-61WS. Information on special advisers for the last financial year is currently being collected and will be published in the normal way when it is ready.
	Travel and subsistence expenses could be provided only at disproportionate cost. There are no records of removal expenses raised against any special adviser working in the Ministry of Defence during the period in question.

QinetiQ

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost was of the legal and advisory fees incurred in the sale of QinetiQ to Carlyle, broken down by year in which they were incurred; and what proportion of the total cost was incurred by  (a) his Department,  (b) QinetiQ and  (c) Carlyle.

Adam Ingram: The sale of a stake in QinetiQ to The Carlyle Group was completed in February 2003. Starting in 1998, the overall PPP process included: options studies and public consultation; the division of DERA into QinetiQ and Dstl; the formation of QinetiQ as a limited company; the conduct of the competition resulting in the selection of Carlyle as MOD's Strategic Partner; and the completion of the legal negotiations and due diligence process necessary to complete the transaction. Work on many of these activities was conducted in parallel and they have not been separately costed.
	MOD's total expenditure on advisers throughout these stages of process was approximately £17.5 million over 5 years. This includes a cost of approximately £9.2 million for legal advice, broken down by financial year as shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Cost of external legal advice to the MOD on the QinetiQ PPP prior to the sale to Carlyle 
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  Amount 
			 1999-2000 0.4 
			 2000-01 0.7 
			 2001-02 2.3 
			 2002-03 4.5 
			 2003-04 1.3 
		
	
	The remaining £8.3 million covered a range of specialist financial, accounting, banking and other technical advice. In order to provide appropriate incentives, a significant proportion of this total was paid on completion of the sale as a success fee, and was calculated as a percentage of the value achieved at sale. Consequently, it is not possible to accurately attribute these costs across individual financial years.
	In addition to these fees, Dstl incurred £1.6 million of general advisory costs and £0.25 million of legal costs relating to its formation.
	The legal and advisory costs incurred by QinetiQ and The Carlyle Group are a matter for those two organisations.

RAF Menwith Hill

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have been stopped and searched at RAF Menwith Hill by the Ministry of Defence Police Agency in each year since 2000.

Adam Ingram: The details of how many people have been stopped and searched at RAF Menwith Hill jointly by the Ministry of Defence Police and North Yorkshire Police (NYP) are set out as follows. Such data is not held prior to September 2001.
	
		
			   Stops  Searches 
			 September 2001 to 22 December 2003 236 210 
			 23 December 2003 to 22 December 2004 571 220 
			 23 December 2004 to 13 December 2005 959 419 
			 14 December 2005 to 14 June 2006 344 92 
			 Grand total 2,110 941

Staff Absenteeism

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many working days were lost to his Department and its Executive agencies in each year since 1997 due to staff absenteeism, expressed as the average annual number of absent days per employee; and what the estimated total cost to the Department and its agencies of absenteeism was in each year.

Tom Watson: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The following tables show the rates of worker sickness absence for non-industrial and industrial civil servants, and the cost of that absence for non-industrials, in the Ministry of Defence since 1997.
	
		
			   Sickness absence rate( 1)  working days per FTE  Sickness absence working days  Sickness absence cost (£ million)( 2) 
			 1997(3) 8.4 573,000 38.59 
			 1998(3) 8.6 571,000 39.28 
			 1999(4) 8.1 538,700 37.23 
			 2000(4) 7.9 520,100 36.64 
			 2001(5) (6)— (6)— (6)— 
			 2002(4) 7.3 465,240 35.11 
			 2003(4) 7.6 480,980 37.99 
			 2004(4) 7.3 469,120 39.39 
			 2005(3) 7.4 475,170 — 
			 
			  Financial year
			 2005-06(3) 7.3 464,270 — 
			 (1) Sickness absence rates are based on FTE working days lost. For example, if a part-time employee (working 50 per cent. full-time hours) is sick for seven calendar days, this is five working days lost and 2.5 FTE working days lost. (2) Sickness absence costs for 1997 to 2004 are based on a Cabinet Office defined average daily salary rate for civilian non-industrial staff multiplied by the number of sickness absence working days lost. Comparable salary rates are not available for 2005 or the financial year 2005-06. (3) Rates are from the Annual Report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service" which is published by the Cabinet Office. (4) Rates for 1999 to 2004 are from UK Defence Statistics 2005 table 2.36 and are for calendar years (1 January to 31 December). The rates shown have been formed using a standardisation technique which involves adjusting unreasonably long absence lengths and removing obviously incorrect records. (5) There is no sickness absence information for non-industrial Ministry of Defence staff available for 2001 for data quality reasons. (6 )No reliable data available.  Note: Excludes non-industrial Ministry of Defence staff in trading funds and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. 
		
	
	
		
			   Sickness absence rate( 1)  working days per FTE  Sickness absence working days 
			 1997(2) (3)13.7 337,100 
			 1998(2) (3)16.3 376,800 
			 1999(4) 12.9 320,900 
			 2000(5) (6)— (6)— 
			 2001(4) 14.8 304;900 
			 2002(4) 13.4 259,950 
			 2003(4) 12.5 209,870 
			 2004(4) 13.2 202,780 
			 2005(4) 11.9 176,840 
			
			  Financial year   
			 2005-06(4) 11.6 170,740 
			 (1) Sickness absence rates are based on FTE working days lost. For example, is a part-time employee (working 50 per cent. full-time hours) is sick for seven calendar days, this is five working days lost and 2.5 FTE working days lost. (2 )Sickness absence records for industrial staff are not as robust as for non-industrial staff and the early years are marked as provisional. (3) Provisional. (4) Rates for 1999 to 2004 are from UK Defence Statistics 2005 table 2.36 and are for calendar years (1 January to 31 December). Rates for calendar year 2005 and the financial year (1 April-31 March) for 2005-06 are calculated on a consistent basis and will appear in UK Defence Statistics 2006. The rates shown have been formed using a standardisation technique which involves adjusting unreasonably long absence lengths and removing obviously incorrect records. (5) There is no sickness absence information for industrial Ministry of Defence staff available for 2000 for data quality reasons. (6 )No reliable data available.  Notes: 1. Excludes industrial Ministry of Defence staff in trading funds and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. 2. Consistent salary rate information for industrial staff are not available on a compile basis to non-industrial staff above to allow the calculation of the cost of their sickness absence.

Territorial Army Commission

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of training courses for a Territorial Army Commission have been cancelled during university holidays because of lack of numbers in the last two years.

Tom Watson: Between September 2004 and March 2006, three TA officer training modules which coincided or partially overlapped with the university holidays were rescheduled or cancelled due to lack of numbers. This represents 1.8 per cent. of TA officer training modules over the period. A further three modules were cancelled which did not coincide with university holidays.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance is provided by her Department for the training of  (a) members of the judiciary and  (b) the police force in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Working with Italy, which retains the international lead on judicial reform in Afghanistan, and other international partners, the UK is helping Afghanistan establish a functional, accessible, equitable and sustainable justice system.
	The UK has provided US$500,000 in support of the United Nations Development Programme "Strengthening the Justice System of Afghanistan" (SJSA). The SJSA programme is helping the Government of Afghanistan restructure the justice system to bring it into compliance with the constitution; rehabilitate judicial infrastructure; strengthen service delivery capacity of justice institutions and justice professionals; promote rule of law and improve access to justice. This programme supports the Government of Afghanistan's "Justice for All" Action Plan which provides the basis for the reform of the Justice Sector over the next twelve years.
	Through the Global Opportunities Fund, the UK has also funded the Bar Human Rights Committee to deliver training to key actors in the legal sector. The training, delivered in April 2006, to staff from the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Afghan National Police and the Lawyers Association of Afghanistan focused on the re-establishment of the rule of law, women's access to justice, and human rights in international and domestic law.
	Germany is responsible for co-ordinating international assistance to the Afghan government's police reform programmes. Since 2002, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has administered almost £5 million in support of these programmes through the Department for International Development/Ministry of Defence/FCO funded Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). In financial year (FY) 2002-03 the GCPP Afghanistan Strategy contributed around £112,000, in 2003-04 £2.5 million, in 2004-05 £1.6 million and in 2005-06 £760,000. This has funded two UK police trainers at the Kabul Police Academy (2002-06), five UK mentors at the Regional Police Training College in Mazar-e-Sharif (2004-06) and the creation of a Crime Scene Investigation team in Kabul (2003-05). In FY 2006-07 the GCPP will continue to support police reform through the appointment of a Senior Police Adviser to the UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Lashkar Gah. The Adviser's role will include the provision of support to local police and justice officials in Helmand as well as identifying ways in which the UK can provide assistance to support the German and US police programmes.
	The UK has also allocated £15 million in FY 2006-07 towards counter-narcotics law enforcement in Afghanistan. This funding will help support the Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan, the lead drugs law enforcement agency, and the Afghan Special Narcotics Force (ASNF) through training, mentoring and equipping personnel. The ASNF has caused significant disruption to the drugs trade, forcing traffickers to move drugs in smaller quantities. The ASNF is playing an important role as part of the wider Afghan law enforcement effort against illegal drugs.

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the progress in the training of  (a) members of the judiciary and  (b) the police force in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Italy has been leading the international community's effort on judicial reform. Training members of the judiciary has been a central focus and progress has been made. Over the past four years a series of training programmes funded by the international community has seen over 600 Afghan judges, prosecutors and lawyers, of whom 42 were women, undergo specialised legal training. These programmes are set to continue with further projects delivering training in legal aid, criminal and commercial law, technical assistance, financial crime, juvenile crime and gender justice to senior judges, law graduates and government officials.
	Despite these efforts Afghanistan's justice system still lacks sufficiently qualified officials, adequate legal education and the necessary administrative tools and physical infrastructure. The UK will continue to support both the Afghan Government and our development partners in reforming Afghanistan's justice sector.
	Germany has been leading efforts to train and reform the Afghan national police with assistance from the US. Since August 2002, there have been some considerable achievements. Over 50,000 police of all ranks and branches have been trained at the re-established Police Academy and at five regional training centres. A pay and rank review is under way aiming to reduce the current top-heavy structure and raise police salaries in order to attract the best candidates. An international conference on border management and police was co-hosted by Afghanistan and Germany in Qatar in February. It endorsed the findings that replenishment of the Law and Order Trust Fund, used to partly fund police salaries, was critical to the success of police pay and rank reform. We support this finding and the valuable work that the international community, in particular Germany and the US are putting into police training and reform.

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds her Department has provided to support the training of the police force in Afghanistan in each year since 2002; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Since 2002, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has administered almost £5 million in support of the Afghan Government's police reform through the Department for International Development/Ministry of Defence/FCO funded Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). In financial year 2002-03 the GCPP Afghanistan Strategy contributed around £112,000, in 2003-04 £2.5 million, in 2004-05 £1.6 million and in 2005-06 £760,000. This funding has seen two UK police trainers at the Kabul Police Academy (2002-06), five UK mentors at the Regional Police Training College in Mazar-e-Sharif (2004-06) and the creation of a Crime Scene Investigation team in Kabul (2003-05).

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the  (a) Secretary of State for International Development and  (b) the Secretary of State for Defence regarding the security situation in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: There are regular meetings at ministerial and official level between the three departments on a range of issues relating to UK support to help establish a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. The security situation remains central to these discussions.
	Our dialogue ensures the UK's efforts in Afghanistan remain on track. The recent deployment of a fully-integrated multi-disciplinary military/civilian mission to Helmand Province demonstrates the importance of a continued cross-government approach.

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total UK expenditure on reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan has been since 2002; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Since financial year 2001-02, the UK has committed over £1 billion in development assistance to Afghanistan. This includes the most recent pledge of £500 million in development aid made at the London Conference on Afghanistan in January 2006.
	The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to Afghanistan behind the United States. We also remain the largest contributor to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, having committed £295 million between 2002-08.

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of the reduction in the volume of the poppy harvest which will result from the work of the British and coalition troops in Afghanistan in each of the next four years.

Kim Howells: UK forces in Afghanistan are deployed under the international security assistance force (ISAF) and are not there to take direct action against the drugs trade. They will contribute to the broader counter-narcotics effort by providing the secure environment in which the rule of law can be applied, reconstruction can take place and legal rural livelihoods can be developed. ISAF forces will be able to help with the provision of training to Afghan counter-narcotics forces and will, within means and capabilities, provide support to their operations. They will also help the Afghan Government explain their policies to the Afghan people.
	Sustainable drug elimination strategies take time. Bringing about a sustainable decrease in poppy cultivation requires a range of activities including arresting and convicting the traffickers who profit from the trade, and putting in place the development programmes which enable farmers to move away from growing poppy. That is why the UK is spending £270 million over a three-year period on supporting the Government of Afghanistan's National Drug Control Strategy.

Afghanistan

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of  (a) reports of detainee abuse and  (b) extra-judicial police actions in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Annual Human Rights Report states that Afghanistan remains a country of concern for human rights reasons. We continue to receive reports of detainee abuse and extra-judicial action throughout Afghanistan. While the Afghan Government have made real progress in improving human rights, they currently lack the resources and capacity to deal with all the challenges they face.
	The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), established in June 2002, is an autonomous institution within the Afghan Government set up to monitor human rights abuses and implement transitional justice. It continues to work closely with the Government of Afghanistan and international partners to combat the culture of impunity that has existed in Afghanistan and led to past human rights abuses. Since its inception the Commission has closed some 40 private jails; has had 1,600 people, who were being held illegally, released from prison, and managed eight workshops for prison governors on human rights. Its work is helping the country make a full transition to stability and peace based on democracy and human rights. I am pleased to be able to tell the hon. Member that the UK recently committed US$1 million in funding to the AIHRC.

Afghanistan

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total UK expenditure on  (a) poppy eradication and interdiction,  (b) law enforcement and  (c) support of alternative livelihoods has been in Afghanistan in each year since 2003.

Kim Howells: Over financial years 2003-04 and 2004-05, the UK allocated the following amounts to poppy eradication, law enforcement and interdiction, and alternative livelihoods in Afghanistan:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Financial year 
			   2003-04  2004-05 
			 Eradication 1.33 2.25 
			 Law enforcement and interdiction 3.6 8.6 
			 Alternative livelihoods 5.8 10.7 
		
	
	As interdiction and eradication are separate strands of work the figures are not combined; interdiction figures are combined with law enforcement.
	A written ministerial statement providing a breakdown of the £87 million spent over 2005-06 will shortly be released. Over 2006-07, £91.7 million will be spent by the UK on counter-narcotics in Afghanistan.

Amazon Deforestation

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans she has for the funding by the UK Government of the Amazon Deforestation Soya Certification project.

Ian McCartney: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is providing a total of £239,880 over three years, from its Global Opportunities Fund, for the Amazonian Deforestation Soya Certification project in Brazil. This comprises:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 82,360 
			 2005-06 78,760 
			 2006-07 78,760 
		
	
	The project is co-funded by 'The Nature Conservancy do Brasil' and aims to help combat deforestation by developing and implementing an independent certification scheme for "forest-friendly" soya, modeled on advances in timber certification in the Amazon, and thematic certification, such as dolphin-friendly tuna.

Burma

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the reported use of forced labour of prisoners in Burma.

Ian McCartney: We are aware of reports of the use of forced labour by prisoners in Burma. However, we are unable to confirm the extent of the practice as diplomats and non-governmental organisations are not allowed access to prisons to verify this.
	We condemn the use of all forced labour and fully support the efforts of the International Labour Organisation to put a permanent end to the practice.
	I raised the use of forced labour and our concerns about the general treatment of prisoners with the Burmese ambassador on 15 June 2006.

Burma

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the comments made by European Commission staff to MEPs on 21 November 2005 that a UN Security Council Resolution on Burma would not be helpful to  (a) the UK position and  (b) the EU common position on Burma.

Ian McCartney: The European Commission has taken no position to date on any proposal for a UN Security Council Resolution on Burma. At the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 12 June, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs proposed that the EU support current US-led efforts to secure a Security Council Resolution. Neither the Commission nor any member state spoke against the proposal, which we fully support.

China

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Chinese Government regarding the treatment of animals in China's animal markets.

Ian McCartney: The Government take animal rights in China very seriously. We regularly raise the treatment of animals with the Chinese Government, most recently during my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's visit to China in November 2005, as the then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We also welcome the work that non-governmental organisations undertake with the Chinese authorities to improve standards of animal welfare and to gradually build support for animal welfare issues there.

Family Planning

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions  (a) the UK has voted against and the US has voted for and  (b) the UK has voted for and the US has voted against the adoption of measures relating to abortion and family planning related issues by the United Nations since 1997.

Kim Howells: Abortion and family planning related issues crop up explicitly and implicitly in a wide range of UN bodies e.g. the General Assembly's Third and Second Committees, the Commission on Human Rights, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Population and Development, the United Nations Population Fund Executive Board, the World Health Assembly, General Assembly special sessions on e.g. HIV/AIDS and on Children.
	Within those bodies, abortion and family planning related issues arise in a number of resolutions, often unexpected ones.
	Generally speaking, most resolutions on family planning related issues in the UN are passed without a vote.
	Few UN resolutions explicitly mention "abortion". Much of the debate in New York has centred on the phrase "sexual and reproductive health services". The US often makes an explanation of position after the adoption of such resolutions, to the effect that they do not recognise abortion as a method of family planning or support abortion in their reproductive health assistance.
	Given the aforementioned factors, specifying those occasions on which there have been votes, and which way the US and UK have voted, would incur disproportionate costs.

Guantanamo Bay

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the comments by US officials that three prisoners detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay committed suicide as a public relations gesture.

Kim Howells: The President of the United States has expressed serious concern about the deaths of three detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. We would share his sense of concern and await the results of the investigation into those deaths that has been promised by the US Government.

Iraq

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK contribution is to the fund provided by the European Union to the Iraqi Government; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: On 22 May 2006, the European Commission announced its intention to allocate €200 million to Iraq for 2006 to build the capacity of Iraqi Ministries and institutions, to assist the constitutional review process, and to promote good governance and the rule of law. This new contribution comes on top of the €518 million provided between 2003 and 2005. The UK share of these contributions is 17.5 per cent.

Iraq

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts about the setting up of a European Commission presence in Baghdad; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: At the 2 November 2004 General Affairs and External Relations Council, EU Foreign Ministers invited the Commission to enhance as appropriate, and with due regard to security, its presence in Baghdad. The Commission intends to open an office soon, which will be based initially in the British embassy in Baghdad. My officials are in close contact with the Commission to finalise the details.

Iraq

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK's role is in restoring the Iraqi oil infrastructure; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: UK-sponsored experts and advisers have worked alongside Iraqi, US and World Bank colleagues to help Iraq consider its options to restore its oil infrastructure. UK Trade and Industry has played a role through a UK-Iraq Joint Board on Learning in the Oil Sector. This aims to help repair some of the skill and knowledge gaps in the sector, including the training of English language trainers for the oil industry.
	The Government stand ready to further assist the Government of Iraq to restore its energy sector as required.

Iraq

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what technical assistance the UK is giving to the development of the judicial system and the training of judges in Iraq.

Kim Howells: The United Kingdom offers a wide range of support to the Iraqi justice system, including:
	training over 260 Iraqi judges, prosecutors, lawyers and justice department officials in human rights, international humanitarian law and independence of the judiciary. This has included training Iraqi trainers to implement humanitarian law training in Iraq;
	contribution to an international fund that meets the cost of international advisers to the Iraqi High Tribunal, recruited by the tribunal to provide advice on international law in the trial of Saddam Hussein and members of his former regime;
	supporting the development of judicial networks, in particular of young lawyers, in association with the Iraqi Bar Association;
	offering support and assistance to help ensure the Central Criminal Court of Iraq has the capacity to uphold the Rule of Law.
	The United Kingdom also supports the European Union's integrated Rule of Law Mission, training senior officials from Iraq's judicial, police and correctional services in the UK. The courses expose participants to UK working practices, methods of cooperation across the Rule of Law sector, and the importance of an overall approach which integrates respect for human rights.

Israel

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the British Government's policy is on Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank to the 1967 borders and from its settlements within the West Bank; what the Government's policy is on Israel's policy of unilateral withdrawal; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: It remains our position that all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories are illegal and that there should be no expansion of/or construction within settlements, in line with the Roadmap.
	My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear that the priority now is negotiations. These are manifestly the best way to move this process forward. But if negotiations do not take the process forward then other ways to move it forward will have to be found. It is the role of the international community to give negotiations the best chance of success.
	We remain committed to the vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, and the establishment of a just and lasting peace.

Israel

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the shelling of the Beit Lahia beach in the Gaza Strip by Israeli artillery; and what assessment she has made of the effect of the incident on the middle east peace process.

Kim Howells: Israel has denied responsibility for the deaths of seven Palestinians on 9 June. However, we remain concerned that Israel's response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip should be proportional. We call on Israel to ensure that civilians, particularly children, are not harmed. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed this matter with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni on 12 June. We also continue to call for an end to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip on Israeli targets and for calm in the occupied territories. We support President Abbas's efforts to restore order, using legally constituted security forces.

Laos

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the Laos authorities on the case of the 10 North Korea refugees held in Luang Prabang detention centre in Laos, who may be handed over to the Chinese authorities.

Ian McCartney: We understand the 10 Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea refugees detained in Laos have been released.

Latin America

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of embassy closures on UK influence in Latin America.

Geoff Hoon: All decisions on our overseas network have been based on the need to align our resources with our priorities, to maximise efficiency and ensure that the UK has a cost-effective and flexible network of overseas representation. The UK continues to engage actively with Latin American Governments, with Ambassadors and their teams making regular visits where we do not have resident representation. We have also appointed honorary consuls in each of these countries. The UK and Latin America share many values and international concerns and I have no doubt that our strong links will continue.

Palestine

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1808W, on Palestine, what factors are being considered in the review of the EU Police Mission in the Occupied Territories; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The EU Police Mission in the Occupied Territories is under close review to ensure that it complies with the Quartet's conditions on providing assistance to the Palestinians. The European Commission and member states are in close contact with the Mission, and an EU working group scrutinises the Mission's regular reports. In addition, there will be a formal six-month review in July 2006.

Sri Lanka

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her assessment is of the implications of the recent decision by the European Parliament to proscribe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: We welcome the EU's decision to list the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a terrorist organisation. The EU listing procedure is a means by which EU member states work together collectively to fulfil their obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1373 to freeze the assets of terrorists without delay. The EU has repeatedly urged the LTTE to change their ways, to turn away from violence, return to the negotiation table and pursue peace through political means. It is hoped the listing will help the LTTE to see that they need to change their ways and move away from their path of violence. At the same time, the EU has asked the Government of Sri Lanka to rein in other paramilitary groups from carrying out attacks in Government-controlled areas. The only way forward in the conflict is a negotiated settlement that satisfies the concerns and legitimate aspirations of all Sri Lankans and preserves democracy in Sri Lanka.

Vietnam

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the Vietnamese Government to call for the release of imprisoned Hmong Protestant leader Ma Van Bay.

Ian McCartney: We, with our EU partners, raise human rights issues with the Vietnamese Government at every suitable opportunity. We raised the case of Ma Van Bay, with our EU partners, in Hanoi in May. The EU expressed subsequently our concerns regarding this case to the Vietnamese Government at the latest meeting of the EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue in Hanoi on 14 June. We, with our EU partners, will continue to press the Vietnamese to respond to our concerns regarding this case.

Whaling

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times  (a) she and  (b) her predecessor met representatives from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss whaling over the last 12 months.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 16 June 2006
	There have been no ministerial discussions between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on this issue. Officials from both the Departments, however, work closely throughout the year to ensure our policy on whaling is communicated to countries that are currently members of the International Whaling Commission and to those who have an interest in cetacean conservation. We will continue to work together on these important issues.

Whaling

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with which countries  (a) she and  (b) her predecessor has discussed whaling over the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 16 June 2006
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed whaling with any country in the last 12 months. Every year, in advance of the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office issues lobbying instructions to its missions to seek support from their host countries for the UK's position on whaling. The prominent role we play within the IWC ensures no country can be in any doubt as to the importance we attach to whale conservation.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Commission Staff

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many  (a) public relations and  (b) marketing staff the Electoral Commission employs; what the annual wage costs were for staff in each category in the last year for which figures are available; and what the (i) job titles and (ii) functions are of each of these staff.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not categorise its staff in this way. However, it employs 10 staff whose duties it considers to fall, in whole or in part, within the two areas referred to. They consist of four press officers, two staff dealing with parliamentary affairs, and four staff working on voter information campaigns. Their total annual wage costs in 2005-06 were £116,404, £62,892 and £108,129 respectively.
	I have asked the Electoral Commission to write to my hon. Friend with the full details of the job titles and functions of these staff, and to place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE

Broadcast Proceedings

David Lepper: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he will make a statement on the changes recommended by the Committee to the rules on broadcasting proceedings of the House and on filming and photography within the precincts.

Frank Doran: The Committee has recently made a number of recommendations on changes to the rules on broadcasting proceedings of the House and on filming and photography within the precincts. Mr. Speaker has agreed to these changes being made on a trial basis. The Committee will consider in December whether to recommend that they be made permanent.
	From the return of the House in October, and for a trial period, a greater variety of shots of proceedings in the Chamber will be allowed than is the case at present, including a greater use of reaction shots in order to illustrate the mood of the House, and the provision of a low-level atmospheric sound-feed during divisions rather than the current complete silence.
	From the same time, BBC Parliament will be released on a trial basis from the undertaking previously given to the Broadcasting Committee, to carry live Commons Chamber coverage regardless of proceedings at the same time in the House of Lords, on condition that the freedom to select proceedings in the Lords should be used only sparingly, and that Mr. Speaker should be consulted in such cases. A reporter voice-over will also now be permitted during divisions.
	Two new interview points have been identified within the precincts: in the south west corner of Westminster Hall once the current works there have been completed, and on the Green in New Palace Yard, subject in the latter case to a permit from the Serjeant at Arms. Filming pieces to camera of a presenter walking across Central Lobby will also be permitted before 9 am on non-sitting days, similarly subject to a permit from the Serjeant at Arms.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Select Committee Recommendations

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House what actions have been taken by his Department to implement  (a) Procedure and  (b) Modernisation of the House of Commons Select Committee recommendations since the 2001-02 Session; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The actions being taken by the Government in response to the reports of the Procedure and Modernisation Committees, so far as they are matters for Government, have been set out in written responses to those reports and subsequent debates on the floor of the House. The following tables give details in relation to each report.
	 (a) Procedure Committee
	
		
			  Report  Government reply and any subsequent debate 
			 1st Report 2001-02: Making remedial orders: recommendations of the JCHR Letter to JCHR published in HC 112 of session 2004-05 
			 2nd Report 2001-02: Appointment of Deputy Speakers HC 1121 of session 2001-02 
			 3rd Report 2001-02: Parliamentary Questions Cm 5628 Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House on 29 October 2002 
			 1st (and 2nd) Reports 2002-03: Delegated Legislation: proposals for a sifting committee HC 684 of session 2002-03 
			 3rd Report 2002-03: Sessional Orders HC 613 of session 2003-04 Motion debated by the House on 3 November 2004 
			 4th report 2002-03: Procedures for Debates, Private Members' Bills and the Powers of the Speaker HC 610 of session 2003-04 Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House on 26 October 2004 
			 1st Report 2003-04: Estimates and appropriation procedure HC 576 of session 2003-04 Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House on 12 May 2004 
			 2nd Report 2003-04: Results of sitting hours questionnaire No response required 
			 3rd Report 2003-04: Joint activities with the National Assembly for Wales HC 681 of session 2003-04 Related Standing Order changes debated 7 June 2004 
			 4th Report 2003-04: Programming of Legislation HC 1169 of session 2003-04 Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House on 26 October 2004 
			 1st Report 2004-05: The Sub Judice rule of the House of Commons No response yet required (further work being done by Committee) 
			 1st Report 2005-06: Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill Letter to Chairman of Committee Recommendations being further considered during passage of the Bill 
		
	
	 (b) Modernisation Committee
	
		
			  Report  Government reply and any subsequent debate 
			 1st Report 2001-02: Select committees Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House 14 May 2002 
			 2nd Report 2001-02: House of Commons Reform programme Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House 29 October 2002 
			 1st Report (2002-03): Programming of Bills Related Standing Order changes debated by the House 6 November 2003 
			 1st Report (2003-04): Connecting Parliament with the Public Related Standing Order changes and Motion debated by the House on 26 November 2004 and 26 January 2005 
			 1st Report (2004-05): Sitting Hours Related Standing Order changes debated by the House 26 January 2005 
			 2nd Report (2004-05): Scrutiny of European Business Under consideration

TRANSPORT

Antisocial Behaviour (Trains)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many antisocial behaviour orders have been applied for by the British Transport police in the last 12 months, broken down by  (a) Government office region and  (b) constituency.

Derek Twigg: The British Transport police (BTP) have provided the following information on the number of antisocial behaviour order applications recorded by BTP Area; data is not collected by Government office region or by parliamentary constituency.
	Between 31 May 2005 and 1 June 2006 the following number of antisocial behaviour order applications were made by the BTP:
	
		
			  BTP area  Applications 
			 London North 7 
			 London South 32 
			 London Underground 32 
			 North East 8 
			 North West 1 
			 Scotland 0 
			 Wales and Western 0

Car Sharing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what help the Department is giving to car- sharing schemes.

Gillian Merron: Through the local transport planning system and other initiatives, the Department encourages local authorities to set up authority-wide car share schemes and to promote car sharing as part of site specific workplace travel plans.
	The Highways Agency is implementing workplace travel plans on the strategic road network and piloting the use of dedicated car share lanes.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on the cost of the Crossrail project of re-using  (a) the Farringdon to Moorgate section of Thameslink and  (b) the disused Moorgate to Liverpool Street mainline station link.

Derek Twigg: I understand from Crossrail London Rail Links Ltd (CLRL) that reusing the section of Thameslink running from Farringdon to Moorgate for operational purposes would involve bringing the tunnel up to the surface near Farringdon and returning below ground near Moorgate. This is considered impractical, given that there is not sufficient space for tunnel portals in these areas. Therefore, CLRL has not carried out a cost assessment of this option.
	CLRL have informed me that they are not aware of a disused mainline station link running from Moorgate to Liverpool Street.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps will be taken to ensure that listed buildings located at the sites of proposed Crossrail stations are not  (a) damaged and  (b) demolished.

Derek Twigg: We have sought to avoid adverse effects on listed buildings wherever practicable. However, the construction of Crossrail would result in the demolition of two listed buildings and the modification of a further thirteen.
	We are in the process of negotiating agreements with English Heritage and the relevant local authority, as appropriate, for those listed buildings that are affected by Crossrail works. These agreements will describe the mitigation required at each location. Impacts from construction works on any listed buildings which are not covered by a separate agreement would be controlled via mechanisms set out in the environmental minimum requirements that will be set for the project. Potential settlement impacts are dealt with in Crossrail's settlement policy.
	For further information please see information paper 'D18—Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas' at:
	http://billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk/80256FA10055060F/pages/informationpapers

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated cost of the Crossrail project is in each year to completion.

Derek Twigg: The Parliamentary Estimate of Expense, submitted with the Crossrail hybrid Bill, estimates the total cost of Crossrail at £10.292 billion in Q1 2002 prices. It is not possible at this stage to make reliable estimates of the likely annual cost.

Debt Collectors

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its (i) executive agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies use the services of private debt collectors.

Gillian Merron: The services of private debt collectors are not used by the Department, its executive agencies nor its non-departmental bodies. However, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is to launch a nine-month trial from 26 June 2006 for the use of private debt collectors to recover unpaid continuous registration penalties.

Departmental Chief Accounting Officer

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) name,  (b) professional and academic qualifications and  (c) relevant experience are of the Chief Accounting Officer of his Department.

Gillian Merron: The Principal Accounting Officer for the Department for Transport is its Permanent Secretary, Sir David Rowlands KCB, who has a BA (Hons) Philosophy Politics and Economics (Oxon).
	Principal Accounting Officer is a role that the permanent secretary combines with his personal responsibility for the overall organisation, management and staffing of the department and for Department-wide procedures in financial and other matters. The Principal Accounting Officer is assisted in the discharge of these duties by suitably qualified staff and experienced senior managers such as the finance director.

Departmental Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will keep a separate record of the amount spent annually by his Department on alcohol for hospitality purposes.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport does not keep a separate record of the amount spent annually on alcohol for hospitality purposes. Expenditure in the Department is conducted in accordance with the principles of Government accounting. The Department's policy on hospitality is set out in its staff handbook, which advises that, on each occasion, careful consideration should be given to the need, form and extent of hospitality and whether if it can be justified. Staff are prohibited from claiming alcohol under the Department's travel and subsistence arrangements.

First Capital Connect

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations his Department has received from First Capital Connect regarding fares on its services.

Derek Twigg: The Department has received no recent representations from First Capital Connect on fares.

Flag Flying

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure the Union Flag is flown from his Department's buildings on every day the offices are open.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport follows the rules and guidance on flag flying issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. These rules are approved by the Queen on advice from the Department. There are no plans at present to change the number of days flags can be flown from Government buildings.

Government Vehicles

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government  (a) have agreed and  (b) plan to introduce a procurement policy aimed at ensuring that from 2008 the average level of carbon emissions from motor cars it purchases or leases will not exceed 140g per kilometre.

Stephen Ladyman: On 12 June 2006 Government launched new targets for sustainable operations on the Government estate, alongside the Sustainable Procurement Task Force Action Plan. The target for reducing carbon emissions from road vehicles used for Government administrative operations is 15 per cent. by 2010-11, relative to 2005-06 levels.

Great Western Route

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will investigate the reasons for  (a) recent delays on the Great Western route and  (b) track performance problems in hot weather.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 19 June 2006
	I have held meetings with First Great Western and Network Rail to assess performance. Joint action plans are in place between Network Rail and FGW to address performance issues. These are monitored monthly.
	Whether to impose temporary speed restrictions during spells of hot weather is a matter for Network Rail to judge in line with its normal operating procedures.

Industrial Action (Railways)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many working days on the rail network were lost to industrial action in the last 12 months, broken down by region.

Derek Twigg: The Department does not keep a record of days lost to industrial action as industrial relations are a matter between individual employers and employees.

Invalid Carriages

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many recommendations of the Final Report for the Review of Class Two and Class Three Powered Wheelchairs and Powered Scooters (invalid carriages) published in July 2005 have been implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: We are considering the recommendations made in the report from Transport and Travel Research Ltd. fully before taking any action on the recommendations.

Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  which Government Bills sponsored by his Department remain to be introduced during the 2005-06 Session;
	(2)  which Government Bills sponsored by his Department he has bid for in the next Session of Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Straw) on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1431W.

Leominster Station

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria he used in deciding not to include Leominster train station on the Access for All station list.

Derek Twigg: The criteria used for prioritising stations to receive accessibility improvements as part of the Access for All programme were published in the Railways for All Strategy; a copy of which is available in the House Library.

M25

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the merits of charging for use of the M25.

Stephen Ladyman: No specific assessment has been made of the merits of charging for use of the M25. The Road Pricing Feasibility Study, published in 2004, considered the merits of a possible future national road pricing system for all roads including the motorway network.

Passenger Focus

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to restructure Passenger Focus.

Derek Twigg: We have no plans to restructure Passenger Focus.

Reduced Fare Tickets

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is towards train operators who intend to limit the use of  (a) cheap day and  (b) other reduced fare tickets between 1630 and 1900 to and from London; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Off-peak fares are unregulated, which means operators are free to create fares, withdraw fares, set prices and any time restrictions on a commercial basis, to fill spare off-peak capacity.

Roads

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what work is scheduled to improve the condition of the  (a) A12 and  (b) A127.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Roads

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the carbon dioxide impact of each road scheme which he has approved since 2000 through the local transport plans.

Gillian Merron: The Department considers carbon dioxide impacts of road schemes as part of the normal major scheme approval processes. However, information on the carbon dioxide impact of each road scheme approved since 2000 through local transport plans could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Roads

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has held with ministerial colleagues on the removal of roadside distractions.

Stephen Ladyman: No recent discussions at ministerial level have been held on this subject.

Rochdale/Oldham Loop Line

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to claw back funding from the operators of the Rochdale/Oldham Loop Line following reductions in services over the last four years.

Derek Twigg: Northern Rail operates services between Manchester and Oldham/Rochdale. The level of service which Northern Rail operates between these locations is in line with that required by its franchise agreement.

Rural Transport Services

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rural bus services have  (a) stopped and  (b) been suspended indefinitely in each year since 1997.

Gillian Merron: The total numbers of local bus service cancellations is given in the following table. It is not possible to identify which of the services cancelled were rural bus services.
	
		
			   Total number of bus service cancellations  Total number of new services introduced 
			 1997-98 4,283 5,081 
			 1998-99 4,385 5,813 
			 1999-2000 6,224 4,718 
			 2000-01 4,533 4,746 
			 2001-02 3,947 5,108 
			 2002-03 3,420 4,537 
			 2003-04 3,271 4,581 
			 2004-05 3,190 4,562 
			 Total 33,253 39,146 
			  Note: GB figures, taken from Traffic Commissioner annual reports

Rural Transport Services

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bus passenger miles in rural areas were undertaken in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2005; and how many of these were supported by public funds.

Gillian Merron: The Department does not hold information on passenger miles for all rural areas in the form requested, and it is not possible to identify total local authority support for rural services. However, in 1998, in recognition of the particular needs of rural areas, we introduced specific funding for the support of rural bus services through the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG). The grant is distributed to local authorities on the basis of their rural population. Total grant for England has risen from £32.5 million in 1998 to £54.3 million in 2006. The grant has provided for over 2,000 new and enhanced services.

Sex Offenders Register

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether provisions exist to prevent people on the Sex Offenders Register from being allowed on to the Register of Approved Driving Instructors.

Stephen Ladyman: We currently do not check the Sex Offenders Register for Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) applications. Later this year, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) will introduce enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks for all applicants and those already on the register.
	In the meantime, one of the conditions for registration is that the applicant is a 'fit and proper' person to have his name entered in the ADI register. As part of that assessment each applicant is required to declare any unspent convictions. The ADI registrar, in considering whether the applicant is 'fit and proper' takes account of character references and any declared convictions. Extracts of relevant court proceedings are considered where appropriate.
	Should the registrar become aware of anything, including convictions, that would call into doubt a registered ADI's fitness then he can initiate proceedings to remove them from the register.

Special Advisers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 25 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1957W, on special advisers, how much was spent on travel and subsistence for special advisers between  (a) July and December and  (b) December 2005 and the end of the financial year.

Gillian Merron: The total amount spent on travel and subsistence for special advisers between  (a) July to end December 2005 and  (b) January 2006 to the end of the financial year are as follows:
	
		
			  Period  Travel and subsistence costs (£) 
			  (a) July to end December 2005 3,682.48 
			  (b) January to end March 2006 529.68 
		
	
	All official travel by special advisers is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.

Swindon-Cheltenham Railway Line

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to re-signal the railway line from Swindon to Cheltenham.

Derek Twigg: Any plan to re-signal this route is an operational matter for Network Rail and their recently published business plan included £118 million to be spent on signalling on the Great Western Mainline as a whole over the next 3 years.

Weymouth Relief Road

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether he has approved the building of the Weymouth Relief Road;
	(2)  what funding has been allocated for building the Weymouth Relief Road in each of the next 10 years.

Gillian Merron: The Weymouth Relief Road was provisionally accepted for funding through the Local Transport Programme with an agreed contribution of £54.567 million in December 2003, subject to Dorset county council completing the relevant statutory processes and complying with the conditions in our offer of funding.
	In July 2005 we invited the South West region to provide advice on the priority it attaches to major transport schemes in the South West, including the Weymouth Relief Road, within an indicative Regional Funding Allocation up to 2015-16. We hope to announce our response to this advice before the summer recess.

Weymouth Relief Road

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans the building of the Weymouth Relief Road to start; and when it is scheduled to be completed.

Gillian Merron: Dorset county council, as the promoting authority for this scheme, is responsible for its delivery including completion of the necessary statutory procedures and compliance with the Department's major scheme requirements. We hope to respond before the summer recess to the region's advice on their priorities and suggested funding timescales for this and other schemes within the indicative Regional Funding Allocation for the South West.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the management of the BBC as part of the charter renewal process regarding the proposed re-location of BBC departments to Manchester.

Shaun Woodward: The Department has held numerous discussions with the management of the BBC on a wide range of issues as part of charter review, including on the BBC's proposals to move a significant amount of production outside London, particularly to the north west of England. The Government welcome the BBC's proposals in principle, subject to proper consideration of value for money.

BBC

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will announce the new BBC licence fee settlement; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The BBC's current licence fee settlement runs until the end of financial year 2006-07. The Government are currently conducting a funding review to determine the level of the television licence fee to apply from April 2007. It will announce the outcome later this year.

BBC

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what account she will take of HM Treasury's forecast rate of growth of household income in determining the BBC's request for a licence fee increase of 2.3 per cent. above inflation;
	(2)  what account she will take of the licence fee increase agreed in 2001 in determining the appropriate level of the BBC licence fee in the future;
	(3)  how she plans to determine affordability in setting the appropriate future level of the BBC licence fee;
	(4)  what account she will take of commitments to ensure  (a) efficiency savings and  (b) the prevention of inflation of staff and talent costs at the BBC in determining the future level of the BBC licence fee.

Shaun Woodward: The Government are currently conducting a funding review to determine the level of the licence fee to apply from April 2007. All relevant factors will be considered as part of the review.

Commonwealth Institute Building

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has plans to bring forward legislation relating to the Commonwealth Institute building; what meetings  (a) she and  (b) her officials have had to discuss delisting of the Commonwealth Institute; and who attended each meeting.

David Lammy: Given the Commonwealth Institute's unique role as an international and inter-governmental organisation, whose future is of concern to all 53 Commonwealth countries, Government are considering whether special measures are appropriate in relation to the Commonwealth Institute building. No decisions have yet been taken.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had two meetings with representatives of the Commonwealth Institute. A cross-government working group, which included representatives from the Commonwealth Institute, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development, Department for Education and Skills, and No. 10 met on a number of occasions to discuss Government support for the Commonwealth Institute. The group received advice on the planning process from the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Minister in her Department is responsible for monitoring her Department's compliance with its duty under section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity in carrying out its functions; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Under Section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, Ministers and Government Departments have a duty to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity. This has been replaced by a similar provision under Section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act which comes into effect on the 1 October 2006. There is no statutory duty to monitor compliance with this duty.
	I have responsibility within the Department for sustainable development issues. We have taken a number of steps to benefit biodiversity including:
	Signing up to the biodiversity target under the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.
	Continuing to support the work of the Royal Parks Agency, delivered through their biodiversity management plans for each of the eight royal parks.

Departmental Chief Accounting Officer

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the  (a) name,  (b) professional and academic qualifications and  (c) relevant experience are of the chief accounting officer of her Department.

David Lammy: The permanent secretary, Dame Sue Street, is the accounting officer for DCMS, has an MA degree and her professional career spans over 30 years in the public and private sector. The accounting officer is a role that the permanent secretary combines with her personal responsibility for the overall organisation, management and staffing of the Department and for Department-wide procedures in financial and other matters. The accounting officer is assisted in the discharge of these duties by suitably qualified and experienced senior managers including the chief operating officer who has a degree in economics and is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Departmental Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will keep a separate record of the amount spent annually by her Department on alcohol for hospitality purposes.

David Lammy: Expenditure in the Department is conducted in accordance with the principles of Government accounting as well as the Department's internal guidance, including that on hospitality.
	In line with this, the Department maintains records of expenditure on overall hospitality. The costs associated with expenditure on alcohol are met from within constraints of delegated divisional hospitality and are not separately identified. I have no plans to record these separately.

Diamond Jubilee

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what preparations are being made to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is not currently involved in preparations to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Any announcement of plans will be made closer to the time.

Film Licensing Certificates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance the Government have issued to licensing authorities on their powers to regulate film licensing certificates following the introduction of the Licensing Act 2003.

Shaun Woodward: Guidance to local licensing authorities on this matter was issued as part of the guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, published in July 2004.

Goodison Report

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of the recommendations of the Goodison report she has implemented; which recommendations relating to direct taxation she has implemented; and what plans she has to implement the recommendations not implemented to date.

David Lammy: The Goodison report contains a total of 45 recommendations. Of these, 29 recommendations are directed at a range of bodies, including: my own Department; the various funding bodies; the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA—formerly Resource); the Arts and Humanities Research Council (formerly—Arts and Humanities Research Board); the Trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund/Heritage Lottery Fund; HM Revenue and Customs; and 16 recommendations relate to taxation and so are a matter for the Treasury.
	The key areas in which the Goodison Report has been implemented are as follows:
	my Department's administrative responsibilities for export licensing, the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art, the Government indemnity scheme and the acceptance in lieu scheme have all been transferred to the MLA;
	the Renaissance in the Regions programme for regional museums has been extended to all nine English regions;
	annual funding for the National Heritage Memorial Fund will increase to £10 million in 2007-08; and
	the VAT refund scheme has been extended to university museums and galleries.

Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  which Government Bills sponsored by her Department remain to be introduced during the 2005-06 session;
	(2)  which Government Bills sponsored by her Department she has bid for in the next session of Parliament; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Straw) on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1431W.

Licensing Act

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will issue guidance on the licensing requirements for garden fetes and similar events held solely for the purpose of raising money for good causes which include an element of live music and charge a fee for entrance, but at which no alcohol is provided and there is no element of private gain.

Shaun Woodward: I see no requirement for guidance to licensing authorities covering the circumstances described, since the provision of entertainment at a garden fete or similar event held for charitable purposes is not 'regulated entertainment' for the purposes of the Licensing Act 2003. Such an event would therefore be exempt from the requirement for a licence, unless the intention was to apply some or all of its proceeds for the purposes of private gain or to undertake the sale or supply of alcohol.

London Bombings (Assembly Report)

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what response she has made to the recommendations aimed at her Department in the London Assembly's report on the 7 July bombings.

Tessa Jowell: The Assembly report puts forward one recommendation for my Department. We will provide a full response to the 7 July Review Committee in due course.

National Lottery

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to which organisations New Opportunities funding has been distributed in each Westminster constituency; and which projects were funded.

Richard Caborn: The New Opportunities Fund (NOF) has made 1,831 lottery grants, with a total value of over £110 million, in Northern Ireland. It is not possible to list all the recipient organisations and projects, but details of each project can be viewed on my Department's website, searchable at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk, which uses information supplied by the lottery distributors.
	The following table gives the number and value of NOF awards in each Westminster constituency in Northern Ireland.
	
		
			  Constituency  Number of awards  Total value of awards (£) 
			 Belfast East 56 1,953,046 
			 Belfast North 114 16,448,626 
			 Belfast South 107 16,190, 263 
			 Belfast West 119 4,854,711 
			 East Antrim 58 746,982 
			 East Londonderry 102 1,661,302 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 144 4,065,440 
			 Foyle 168 8,271,792 
			 Lagan Valley 66 1,644,067 
			 Mid Ulster 141 7,610,417 
			 Newry and Armagh 139 10,320,619 
			 North Antrim 106 12,633,210 
			 North Down 48 1,212,856 
			 South Antrim 84 2,081,065 
			 South Down 90 1,777,694 
			 Strangford 85 9,308,154 
			 Upper Bann 72 2,124,799 
			 West Tyrone 132 7,447,990

Tourism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of gross domestic product was accounted for by tourism in  (a) Wales and  (b) the rest of the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: Industry-specific data are only available for Gross Value Added (GVA), not Gross Domestic Product.
	In direct terms, tourism contributes approximately 3.7 per cent. of whole-economy value added in Wales. For the UK in total, tourism contributed an estimated 3.4 per cent. of GVA in 2003 (it is not possible to provide a figure for the UK excluding Wales).
	These figures were both calculated using tourism satellite account methodology but were derived separately and so are not directly comparable.

Tourism

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which 10 tourist attractions in  (a) Cambridgeshire,  (b) Peterborough constituency and  (c) Peterborough city council area attracted the largest number of visitors in each year since 1997.

Shaun Woodward: My Department does not maintain central records of visitors to tourist attractions. However VisitBritain and its predecessor have previously carried out periodical surveys of regional attractions. The data available from the surveys covering Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and the estimated visitor numbers for the most popular attractions in these areas is set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  (a) Cambridgeshire 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Imperial War Museum, Duxford 391,388 403,928 399,824 390,611 434,322 382,255 442,772 444,478 
			 King's College Chapel, Cambridge 300,674 285,602 264,565 245,926 209,736 212,244 201,887 21,510 
			 Cambridge American Cemetery 289.845 171,025 84,800 171,109 159,719 175,000 175,00 160,000 
			 Anglesey Abbey, Lode 108,886 118,824 124,526 124,050 132,238 141,651 165,882 160,449 
			 Ely Cathedral 250,000 250,000 91,918 86,707 90,052 86,034 79,221 78,183 
			 University Botanic Garden, Cambridge 100,000 110,000 110,000 100,000 110,000 103,500 127,336 124,885 
			 Peterborough Cathedral 90,000 90,000 80,000 48,700 46,706 48,291 54,153 60,563 
			 Nene Valley Railway, Stibbington 59,363 66,210 66,493 63,278 64,606 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery 39,000 34,045 31,432 (1)— (1)— 33,183 31,003 31,088 
			 Sedgwick Museum 23,760 22,437 21,042 21,364 21,014 22,454 (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) No data. 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Peterborough 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Big Sky Adventure Play, Peterborough 105,000 110,391 140,334 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Peterborough Cathedral 90,000 90,000 80,000 48,700 46,706 48,291 54,153 60,563 
			 Nene Valley Railway, Stibbington 59,363 66,210 66,493 63,278 64,606 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery 39,000 34,045 31,432 (1)— (1)— 33,183 31,003 31,088 
			 Activity World, Peterborough 80,000 82,000 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Flag Fen Bronze Age Centre (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 15,490 (1)— (1)— 
			 Railworld (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 3,466 (1)— (1)— 
			 Thorney Abbey Church (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 800 (1)— (1)— 
			 Thorney Heritage Museum (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 743 (1)— (1)— 
			 Longthorpe Tower (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 459 (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) No data.

Trooping the Colour

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how the Government will be represented at this year's Trooping the Colour.

Tom Watson: Trooping the Colour at the Queen's birthday parade is organised by Headquarters The Household Division. They do not allocate tickets to individual Members of the Government, but blocks of seats are allocated to the Prime Minister's Office and to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Ministry of Defence was represented by the Armed Forces Minister.

Trooping the Colour

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the  (a) flag of the Commonwealth and  (b) personal Commonwealth flag of Her Majesty the Queen will be displayed at this year's Trooping the Colour.

David Lammy: For Trooping of the Colour, the flags of all 53 countries currently in the Commonwealth are flown in Horseguards Road. The flag of the Commonwealth and the personal Commonwealth flag of Her Majesty are not flown.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

People Trafficking

Diane Abbott: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what discussions she has had with the Home Office on border controls to prevent the trafficking of young women into the United Kingdom.

Meg Munn: As a Member of the Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, I work closely with Home Office colleagues to ensure that provision for victims is sensitive to the needs of young women trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation. All UK immigration officers have been made aware of a best practice toolkit to enable prompt and accurate identification of victims. In addition, immigration officers receive regular intelligence briefings and inter-agency briefings that highlight issues and trends in respect of trafficking.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Brownfield Development

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1387-88W, on Brownfield development, if she will break down the 2004 figures in each column by region.

Yvette Cooper: The information available is from Land Use Change Statistics, shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  New dwellings on previously developed land as a proportion of all new dwellings (excluding conversions), by GOR 
			Percentage 
			   North East  North West  Yorkshire and Humber  East Midlands  West Midlands  East of England  London  South East  South West  England 
			 1986 39 53 45 38 51 52 76 75 37 51 
			 1987 35 48 39 46 45 46 91 47 37 48 
			 1988 41 51 42 36 46 52 85 54 38 50 
			 1989 45 50 43 41 46 52 87 56 45 52 
			 1990 42 55 44 41 50 53 84 54 42 51 
			 1991 47 55 43 38 49 47 83 55 35 50 
			 1992 56 62 47 37 53 48 89 51 40 53 
			 1993 42 62 51 35 56 52 87 53 36 53 
			 1994 52 57 50 37 49 56 83 48 35 51 
			 1995 50 60 49 38 53 56 84 54 37 54 
			 1996 53 65 51 37 50 53 82 57 35 54 
			 1997 46 58 49 37 56 53 89 54 34 53 
			 1998 50 62 51 35 54 54 92 56 38 55 
			 1999 40 60 50 37 54 58 89 62 40 56 
			 2000 47 68 57 43 55 54 89 62 45 59 
			 2001 45 70 55 48 60 59 90 66 49 60 
			 2002 57 72 63 54 67 58 90 66 48 64 
			 2003 52 72 65 54 70 59 95 65 58 66 
			 2004 61 78 68 54 73 62 95 72 54 69 
			  Source: Land Use Change in England: Residential development to 2005 (LUCS-21) 
		
	
	
		
			  New dwellings on previously residential land as a proportion of all new dwellings, by GOR 
			   North East  North West  Yorkshire and Humber  East Midlands  West Midlands  East of England  London  South East  South West  England 
			 1986 20 6 10 25 35 37 27 32 24 26 
			 1987 25 20 16 20 21 25 28 24 19 22 
			 1988 13 10 15 15 15 20 22 28 19 19 
			 1989 6 10 13 14 12 22 25 27 18 18 
			 1990 7 11 15 15 15 25 29 30 21 20 
			 1991 5 10 13 11 11 18 22 24 16 16 
			 1992 6 8 16 13 11 20 12 24 19 16 
			 1993 4 7 12 10 10 16 10 19 15 12 
			 1994 9 6 10 7 8 15 10 16 11 11 
			 1995 10 7 9 10 11 15 9 17 14 12 
			 1996 11 8 10 8 9 13 10 16 15 11 
			 1997 6 7 7 8 11 13 13 16 13 11 
			 1998 3 7 11 8 10 14 13 17 14 12 
			 1999 4 9 9 8 9 17 12 17 15 12 
			 2000 6 13 10 8 11 16 17 19 18 14 
			 2001 6 9 12 10 11 17 17 21 17 14 
			 2002 6 9 12 10 13 15 17 22 18 15 
			 2003 4 9 15 11 14 14 16 22 20 15 
			 2004 10 10 14 9 12 16 13 26 18 15 
			  Source: Land Use Change in England: Residential development to 2005 (LUCS-21)

Building Regulations

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what inspection is made of enforcement of building regulation by private sector providers.

Angela Smith: Private sector approved inspectors do not have enforcement powers for breaches of the Building Regulations. No formal inspection is made of the work of either the public or private sector as, under the Building Act 1984, building control is a fully devolved service. However, my officials meet with representatives of both sectors to discuss operational and delivery issues, and have helped to develop Performance Indicators and a revised Performance Standards Handbook, both due to be published soon.

Building Regulations

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which private sector providers are used by local authorities to enforce building regulations.

Angela Smith: We have made no such assessment. The statutory function of enforcing the building regulations rests with local authorities. Local authorities may engage private sector professional assistance to help them discharge their day-to-day building control responsibilities, e.g. assisting with plan checking.

Bullying

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints of bullying were made in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2005-06; and how many cases were upheld.

Angela Smith: Staff are encouraged to seek an informal resolution of all matters in dispute with the individual and their line manager. Where it is not possible to resolve informally, complaints of bullying are dealt with under the Department's complaints and grievances procedures. Information on the number of cases dealt with is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Castle Point Borough Council

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of the performance of Castle Point borough council; what steps she is taking to improve the performance of the council; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: A lead official from the Department for Communities and Local Government is working with Castle Point borough council following the council's assessment as 'poor' under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment in June 2004. The lead official advises Ministers regularly on the capability and capacity of the council and following significant improvements over the last year, particularly in the strength of officer and political management, we have recently agreed that formal monitoring meetings will be held on a two monthly rather than a monthly basis.
	In December last year the Audit Commission reported that the council were making 'good progress'.

Departmental Staff

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department organises  (a) adult learning courses and  (b) occupational and professional development courses for its staff.

Angela Smith: Skills for Life support is offered to new entrants and is also highlighted to managers, as part of the induction process. The Department for Communities and Local Government intranet has a Skills for Life page providing information and web links to a variety of resources.
	English classes with Westminster Adult Education Service have been set up for Mitie catering staff.
	All other learning and development is commissioned through the Department's Training Framework Agreement covering 18 different suppliers.

Fire Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Department and its predecessors have spent on external consultants on fire service related projects in each year since 2000, broken down by project.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on 9( )May 2006,  Official Report, column 218W.
	The Department of Communities and Local Government was formed in May 2006 (formerly ODPM formed in May 2002) and expenditure prior to May 2002 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. For the period May 2002 to March 2006 the figures are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Cost 
			 2002-03 3.38 
			 2003-04 5.29 
			 2004-05 13.27 
			 2005-06 15.35 
		
	
	The increase in expenditure since 2002-03 can be explained by the three large projects known as New Dimension, Firelink and FireControl.
	These projects constitute:
	(i) an important part of the Government's response to the events of 11 September 2001;
	(ii) a reflection of the need to serve the interests of public safety and security by enhancing the ability of the fire and rescue service to respond to major incidents; and
	(iii) support the modernisation of the fire and rescue service following Professor Bain's Independent Review of the Fire Service, published in December 2002.
	The use of consultants enables a range of professional expertise to be deployed on these projects.

Flags

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will ensure the Union Flag is flown from her Department's buildings on every day the offices are open.

Angela Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government follows the rules and guidance on flag flying issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. These rules are approved by the Queen on advice from the Department. There are no plans at present to change the number of days flags can be flown from Government buildings.

Licensing Act

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will meet the hon. Member for Castle Point to discuss the extent to which the Licensing Act 2003 is being applied consistently by local authorities.

Shaun Woodward: I have been asked to reply.
	While I would be happy to meet the hon. Member, interpretation of the Licensing Act 2003 is a matter for licensing authorities in the first instance and the Courts in the case of a dispute. Ministers cannot tell licensing authorities how to interpret the legislation, although we are currently reviewing the guidance issued under s.182 of the Licensing Act 2003 which aims to help licensing authorities operate the regime. If the hon. Member would like to write to me to outline any specific concerns, I would be happy to consider them as part of the review of the guidance.

Ordnance Survey

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment Ordnance Survey has made of its potential use of the TerraSAR-X satellite once it is operational.

Angela Smith: The information requested is as follows:
	"Ordnance Survey continuously monitors developments in the field of satellite and remote sensing technology. It is interested in new satellite technologies and is reviewing the capabilities of a range of new satellite sensors and platforms to augment its activity and improve operational efficiency in its ability to monitor change in Great Britain."

Regional Government

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1816W, on regional government, how much funding is being allocated to the regional round tables in each of the two years.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	DEFRA will contribute up to £46,000 in 2006-07 and up to £72,000 in 2007-08 towards a programme of activities put forward by each regional sustainable development round table and agreed by DEFRA.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Delegated Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the operation of  (a) the Electricity and Gas (Energy Efficiency Obligation) Order 2001 and  (b) the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998; and what recent representations he has received about the operation of each instrument.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Electricity and Gas (Energy Efficiency Obligations) Order 2001 enabled the Government to effectively implement the first phase of the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC), an obligation on electricity and gas suppliers to promote improvements in household energy efficiency. It is administered by Ofgem on behalf of Government. The first phase of the EEC is expected to lead to 0.4 million tonnes of carbon being saved annually by 2010. All energy suppliers met their targets under EEC phase 1, allowing 10 million householders to benefit from energy saving measures. The second phase of the EEC came into force on 1 April 2005 under Electricity and Gas (Energy Efficiency Obligations) Order 2004, and we have not received any recent representations about the operation of the 2001 Order. We routinely meet with energy efficiency industry stakeholders on the operation of the 2004 Order and our commitment to extend the scheme to a third three-year phase.
	The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 deal with the safety of gas systems and appliances in domestic and some commercial premises. The regime arising from the Regulations is under review and representations are continuing to be received.

Rural Post Office Network

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the public consultation on the future of the rural post office network is expected to commence; what the nature will be of this consultation; when it is expected to be concluded; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We are carefully considering options for the network post 2008 and are not working to a specific timetable. There has already been informal consultation with key stakeholders and we expect to consult more widely in due course.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Benefits (Appeals)

David Ruffley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many appeal cases for  (a) incapacity benefit,  (b) disability living allowance and  (c) jobseeker's allowance were lodged in each of the last five years; and how many were successful.

Vera Baird: The information is set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of lodged and successful jobseeker allowance benefits appeals 
			   Total claims lodged for JSA  Total claims for JSA cleared in favour of appellants 
			 2001 19,110 2,310 
			 2002 18,550 2,120 
			 2003 16,390 2,130 
			 2004 14,970 1,880 
			 2005 14,630 1,850 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of lodged and successful incapacity benefits appeals 
			   Total claims: 
			   Lodged for IB (PCA)  For IB (PCA) cleared in favour of appellants  Lodged for IB (not PCA)  For IB (not PCA) cleared in favour of appellants 
			 2001 44,740 12,800 8,050 1,390 
			 2002 52,870 16,520 8,180 1,630 
			 2003 55,760 20,260 8,600 1,790 
			 2004 55,130 19,880 8,530 1,700 
			 2005 54,830 21,240 7,950 1,730 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3:Number of lodged and successful disability living allowance benefits appeals 
			   Total claims lodged for DLA  Total claims for DLA cleared in favour of appellants 
			 2001 86,420 45,160 
			 2002 82,540 39,490 
			 2003 87,620 36,850 
			 2004 90,220 38,170 
			 2005 84,040 35,900 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures are for each calendar year (January to December). 3. All figures are subject to change as more up to date data become available. 4. Figures for the latest months will rise substantially as information feeds through to the Appeals Service. 5. 'Cleared in favour' indicates that the appeal was cleared in favour of the appellant. 6. "Lodged" denotes when an appeal is submitted to the first tier agency. Lodged data only enters the GAPS database when the appeal reaches the Appeals Service. 7. PCA = Personal Capability Assessment.  Source:  100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System.

Capita Group

Chris Grayling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what meetings  (a) she and  (b) Ministers in her Department have held with directors and senior executives of (i) Capita Group plc and (ii) its subsidiaries since 1 January 2004; and whether (A) Capita Group plc and (B) its subsidiaries have provided input (1) in writing and (2) in person to policy discussions in her Department since 1 January 2004.

Harriet Harman: Capita Group plc has a large number of trading subsidiaries and I am unable to provide the requested information without incurring disproportionate costs.

Cohabiting Couples

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what representations she has received on the Law Commission proposals that cohabiting couples have the same rights on separation as married couples on divorce.

Harriet Harman: I have received no representations. The Law Commission published a consultation paper on 31 May entitled "Cohabitation: the Financial Consequences of Relationship Breakdown". The consultation period will run until 30 September. The Law Commission has not proposed giving cohabiting couples the same rights on separation as married couples on divorce. An overview document of the consultation paper is available on the Law Commission's website at www.lawcom.gov.uk/cohabitation.htm. The Government look forward to the outcome of the consultation and will consider any recommendations that the Commission makes in its final report due next year.

Compensation Bill

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the number of personal injury cases that are likely  (a) to succeed and  (b) to fail as a result of the use of defences proposed under Clause 1 of the Compensation Bill [Lords]; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: Clause 1 does not provide a new defence against liability for negligence or breach of statutory duty, and the success or failure of a claim will not depend on it. It simply identifies a factor which the courts can already take into account in determining a claim. The court will also take all the other circumstances of the case into account.

Compensation Bill

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the likely change in the total amount of compensation paid out by insurers as a consequence of defences using proposed provisions in Clause 1 of the Compensation Bill [Lords].

Bridget Prentice: Clause 1 does not provide a new defence against liability for negligence or breach of statutory duty, and the success or failure of a claim will not depend on it. It will therefore not affect the amount of compensation paid by insurers.

Compensation Bill

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of likely cases involving the use of the new defences under Clause 1 of the Compensation Bill [Lords].

Bridget Prentice: Clause 1 does not provide a new defence against liability for negligence or breach of statutory duty, and the success or failure of a claim will not depend on it. The courts will be able to consider the factor embodied in clause 1 wherever they consider it to be relevant, as is the case now.

Compensation Bill

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will bring forward a Government new clause to the Compensation Bill [Lords] to define 'desirable activity'; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Government do not intend to introduce a new clause to define desirable activity. The provision in Clause 1 of the Bill gives the court the flexibility to consider all the relevant circumstances of the case to reach a fair and just decision. Including a definition of 'desirable activity' could imply that certain types of desirable activity would have more weight than others, and would not reflect the existing law.

Compensation Bill

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will bring forward a Government new clause to the Compensation Bill [Lords] to overturn the House of Lords judgment in the case of Barker; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Government fully understands the concerns that have been expressed about the judgment and are determined to find the best way to address the resulting issues for the claimants involved. As the Prime Minister has indicated, we are looking at this very carefully and hope to be in a position to make an announcement in the next couple of weeks.

Compensation Bill

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will provide an explanatory note to define the phrase 'desirable activity' in the context of clause 1 of the Compensation Bill [Lords].

Bridget Prentice: Defining the phrase desirable activity is not necessary or appropriate. The concept which it embodies is the very well-established one of taking the wider social value of activities into account. This reflects the existing law and the courts are already able to—and do—take these matters into account when considering all the circumstances of an individual case.

Constitutional Affairs Select Committee

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what Constitutional Affairs Select Committee recommendations her Department has  (a) accepted and  (b) implemented since 2001-02; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (previously called the Committee on the Lord Chancellor's Department) was established in January 2003.
	The Committee have since produced a number of reports. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, my Department has made it clear, in the Government responses to Select Committee reports, whether or not we accept Committee recommendations. Where accepted, we aim to implement within an appropriate time scale.

CORE

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the set-up costs were of the co-ordinated online record of electors (CORE); and what she estimates the running costs of CORE will be in the next three financial years.

Bridget Prentice: Since its inception in late 2003, expenditure of £1,726,631 has been incurred by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department of Constitutional Affairs on Phase I of the CORE project-supporting in house system providers and third party vendors so that their electoral registration systems can output electoral register data in an agreed EML format standard.
	A further £23,111.38 has been incurred by the Department of Constitutional Affairs in relation to Phase II of CORE, the implementation of national access arrangements.
	At this stage of the project, estimates are not available for the cost of procuring a CORE information system or associated annual running costs. These will be identified shortly as part of the CORE Phase II development process.

County Court Records

Mark Todd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 May 2006,  Official Report, column 732W, on county court records, whether she has received representations on  (a) the Department's contract with Registry Trust and  (b) the appropriateness of the contract in the context of European legislation on the re-use of public sector information.

Harriet Harman: No representations have been received by the Department on its contract with Registry Trust Ltd., nor its appropriateness in the context of European legislation on the re-use of public sector information.
	Registry Trust Ltd., in its role as Registrar of the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, carry out a statutory function on behalf of the Lord Chancellor. Therefore, the provisions of Directive 2003/98/EC, requiring public sector bodies to avoid as far as possible exclusive agreements between themselves and private partners when establishing the principles for re-use of documents, do not apply to its contract with Registry Trust Ltd.

Court Transcripts

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which groups receive transcripts of court proceedings as a matter of course; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: No group receives transcripts of court proceedings as a matter of course. However, transcripts are provided on request subject to payment of the appropriate transcription fees and, where necessary, subject to the necessary permission being granted by the court. In addition, transcripts are provided to the Court of Appeal in any case where appeal proceedings have been initiated.

Court Transcripts

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether judges have the power to order that transcripts of court proceedings be given, free of charge, to parties other than those that normally receive them as a matter of course.

Harriet Harman: There is no statutory provision that empowers judges in the Crown court to make such an order. However, transcripts are provided on request subject to payment of the appropriate transcription fees and, where necessary, subject to permission being granted by the court. Transcripts of proceedings in the Crown court are provided free of charge to any party that has been granted a right to representation by the Criminal Defence Service for the purposes of appeal proceedings. In civil proceedings, if a party to the action requires a transcript then one will be provided upon payment of the appropriate transcription charges. Under provisions in the Civil Procedure Rules an unrepresented appellant who is in difficult financial circumstances may make a request to the judge that the cost of a transcript be borne at public expense. Parties other than those to the proceedings are required to make an application to the judge for a transcript and pay the appropriate transcription fees.

Criminal Offences Legislation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the criminal offences created in legislation sponsored by her Department since April 2005, broken down by Act.

Harriet Harman: Section 44 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 creates an offence of ill-treatment or neglect. Section 35 of the Inquiries Act 2005 creates summary offences for failure to comply with orders from an inquiry chairman.

Data Protection

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take an early legislative opportunity to bring forward amendments to the Data Protection Act 1998 to provide that the name and identity of the author of personal data are disclosed to anyone who has sought disclosure of personal data about themselves under the provisions of the Act.

Vera Baird: We have no plans to do so. The Data Protection Act 1998 does not necessarily prevent the disclosure of such information to individuals making subject access requests to organisations for data about themselves. However, the name and identity of those who are the authors of, or who have otherwise processed that data are, themselves, personal data. Any decision on whether or not that information should be disclosed would need to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Data Protection

Andrew Selous: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will issue guidance on the Data Protection Act 1998 that the provisions of that Act should not prevent the exchange of relevant data between police and the owners of post box addresses at which vehicles involved in road traffic accidents are registered.

Vera Baird: We have no plans to do so. The Data Protection Act 1998 is administered and enforced independently of the Government by the Information Commissioner and it is his role to produce advice and guidance on the proper application of the Act.
	The Act does not prevent the exchange of personal data, where there is a legitimate need to do so, but decisions need to be made on a case-by-case basis.

Departmental Annual Report

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many copies of her Department's annual report (Cm 6820) were produced; at what cost; who was sent copies; at what cost; who was consulted on the text prior to publication; on what criteria the retail price was decided; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: My Department received 500 copies of the DCA departmental annual report under the terms of its contract with TSO, at a cost of £25,134 (including VAT). These were distributed free-of-charge to key stakeholders such as the judiciary, other Government Departments, magistrates, MPs and Lords, the legal profession, DCA Agencies and DCA staff. Approximately 300 of the copies were sent to external recipients via second-class post, at a total postage cost in the region of £588.
	Key policy officials within DCA consulted with cross-criminal justice system partners (Home Office, CPS, Office for Criminal Justice Reform) and HM Treasury on the text and the final version approved by Ministers. The Stationery Office set the retail price of £20.50 for the report based upon their production costs for the report.

Departmental Annual Report

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which official has lead responsibility for progress on each of the targets set out on pages 37 to 45 of the departmental annual report (Cm 6820); to whom each such official reports; what recent discussions she has had on implementation of each target; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: Ministers have regular meetings with officials to discuss progress in delivering key initiatives and targets. The structure of the Department for Constitutional Affairs is available on the Department's website at www.dca.gov.uk and this site also outlines ministerial responsibilities and names senior officials. There is also an organisational chart on pages 138-39 of the departmental annual report.

Departmental Bills

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has for legislation in the next Session of Parliament; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to the response from the Leader of the House of Commons dated 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1431W.

Departmental Chief Accounting Officer

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the  (a) name,  (b) professional and academic qualifications and  (c) relevant experience are of the Chief Accounting Officer of her Department.

Vera Baird: Alex Allan is the Principal Accounting Officer at the Department for Constitutional Affairs. He holds an MA in Mathematics (Cantab), and an MSc in Statistics (Lond). Among his extensive experience in Whitehall Departments, 14 years of his career were spent at Her Majesty's Treasury.
	Accounting Officer is a role that the Permanent Secretary combines with his personal responsibility for the overall organisation, management and staffing of the department and for department-wide procedures in financial and other matters. The Accounting Officer is assisted in the discharge of these duties by suitably qualified and experienced senior managers including the Director General of Finance.

Departmental Documents

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which  (a) individuals and  (b) organisations received an embargoed copy of each (i) consultation document and (ii) White Paper produced by her Department in (A) 2005 and (B) 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: Embargoed copies of the Legal Services White Paper in 2005 and the draft Coroners Bill produced by DCA in 2006 were received by a range of individuals and organisations. One organisation received embargoed copies of the Draft Inquiry Procedure (UK Inquiries) Rules consultation document from my Department in 2006. The majority of DCA consultations are not embargoed.
	Embargoed copies of the White Paper published on 17 October 2005 called "The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First" was received by:
	Chairman of the Bar Council
	President of the Law Society
	President of the Chartered Institute for Patent Agents
	President of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys
	Dean of the Arches and Auditor, Master of the Faculties
	Chair of the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (CASC)
	Opposition spokesmen Oliver Heald MP, Simon Hughes MP, Lord Goodhart QC and The Right Honourable Lord Kingsland QC, The Lord Chief Justice
	Chairman, Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
	Chief Executive of Citizens Advice
	Chief Executive of Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)
	Chairman of National Consumer Council (NCC)
	Chairman of Prudential PLC
	Chairman of Which?
	The Immigration Services Commission
	At a press briefing held on the morning of publication, but before publication time, embargoed copies were made available. The press, legal professions and members of the Consumer Panel (Which?, NCC, EOC, OFT, Citizens Advice, Federation of Small Businesses) were invited.
	Embargoed copies of the draft Coroners Bill were received by the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee and five senior coroners ahead of publication on 12 June 2006.
	The Draft Inquiry Procedure (UK Inquiries) Rules consultation document was received from DCA by ARACS Conference Services (conference organisers) ahead of publication on 1 March 2006. ARACS gave the copies out at a public seminar on public inquiries held after publication. The seminar was attended by around 40 people with knowledge or experience of inquiries, for example, solicitors.

Election Candidates

Iain Wright: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what checks electoral returning officers are required to undertake to establish eligibility of candidates standing in UK elections.

Bridget Prentice: At UK elections, it is for candidates themselves to determine whether or not they are eligible to stand for election. The Returning Officer's role is to ensure compliance with the procedural requirements relating to the information to be provided in the nomination papers.

Election Candidates

Iain Wright: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what penalties are in place for candidates in UK elections who falsely claim  (a) residential and  (b) business status in order to stand in such elections.

Bridget Prentice: Mechanisms exist for the removal from office of candidates in UK elections who falsely claim eligibility to stand and are elected, but are subsequently found to be ineligible to hold that elected office.
	There are currently no penalties that attach to the candidate other than their removal from office. However, the Electoral Administration Bill will make it an offence of corrupt practice for a candidate to knowingly give a false declaration in a nomination paper as to their qualification to stand.

Election Maladministration

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how maladministration in the conduct of an election is  (a) investigated and  (b) redressed; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The outcome of an election, and any maladministration complained of, may only be challenged by the issue of an election petition. A special election court is constituted to hear the petition.

Election Maladministration

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what redress is available to a person who believes that an electoral Returning Officer has acted improperly in conducting an election and has caused that person to suffer harm and loss.

Bridget Prentice: A person who believes that the Returning Officer has acted improperly in conducting an election has the option as part of an election petition to request such further relief or remedy as the court may deem to be just.

Election Maladministration

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many complaints have been received regarding the conduct of an electoral returning officer in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: Formal challenges to the conduct of an electoral returning officer are by way of election petition. The number of election petitions logged and heard, or to be heard, for England and Wales in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006 8 
			 2005 3 
			 2004 6 
			 2003 7 
			 2002 5

Electoral Registration

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance her Department gives to local authority electoral registration departments to ensure that  (a) illegal immigrants and  (b) failed asylum seekers are not on the electoral register.

Bridget Prentice: The Department for Constitutional Affairs does not issue guidance to ERO's. The independent Electoral Commission has within its remit a general duty to issue advice and guidance to electoral administrators.

Electoral Returning Officers

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what options are available to investigate and deal with errors, maladministration and corrupt practice by an electoral returning officer.

Bridget Prentice: The Electoral Administration Bill provides for a returning officer to take such steps as he thinks appropriate to remedy any procedural error on the part of himself or his staff relating to the conduct of an election, although he may not re-count the votes once the result is declared.
	Maladministration or corrupt practice by a returning officer that is considered to have materially affected the result of an election may be challenged by means of an election petition.
	In addition, there are various offences of corrupt practice at an election, so allegations of corrupt practice by a returning officer may be referred to the police for investigation and any further action.

Electoral Returning Officers

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many complaints have been made against an electoral returning officer in respect of the conduct of elections in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: Formal complaints against the actions of a returning officer that are considered to have materially affected the result of an election are made by election petition. Although not all election petitions allege any error or wrongdoing on the part of a returning officer, they are all required to name the returning officer as respondent to the petition.
	In the last five years, the number of election petitions that have included specific complaints about the returning officer are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002 5 
			 2003 6 
			 2004 4 
			 2005 1 
			 2006 4

Electoral Returning Officers

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether it is a duty of an electoral returning officer to report to the police  (a) the fake witnessing of a candidate's nomination papers and  (b) other incidents of possible fraud during the course of an election when such incidents became known to the returning officer; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: Returning officers are responsible for running elections and for ensuring they are conducted in accordance with the relevant rules. It is for individual returning officers to reach their own conclusions on any possible incidents of electoral malpractice or fraud, and to decide whether they should report such matters to the police.

Electoral Returning Officers

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make it her policy to enable the police to investigate possible incidents of electoral fraud or other irregularities during or after an election other than exclusively on the instructions of a returning officer; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: It is open to any person to report possible incidents of fraud to the police at any time. It will be for the police to decide what action to take in relation to any such reported incidents, and the nature and timing of any investigation that may take place into them.

Electoral Returning Officers

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what duties are placed upon returning officers in respect of following advice from the Electoral Commission.

Bridget Prentice: None. The Electoral Commission issues general advice to returning officers on a range of issues relating to the conduct of elections. Returning officers are ultimately responsible for the running of elections and for deciding what action to take in any particular case to ensure they are conducted in accordance with the rules.

Freedom of Information Users Group

John Spellar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs who the members are of the Freedom of Information Users Group; and what their political affiliations are.

Vera Baird: Members of the Information Rights User Group are as follows:
	lan Readhead, Deputy Chief Constable of Hampshire
	Peter Bottomley, MP
	Adrian Pollitt
	Paul Bettison
	Steve Bailey
	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
	John Hipwood
	Professor Robert Hazell
	Rosemary Jay
	Maurice Frankel
	Anthony Kenny
	Bob Satchwell
	Judith Cullen
	Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner (observer)
	Lord Lester is a Liberal Democrat peer. Paul Bettison is leader of Bracknell Forest borough council (Conservative) and Peter Bottomley is a Conservative MP.
	Information about the political affiliations of the other members is not held. The membership has been drawn solely on the ability of the group to assist Government in ensuring that public authorities are responsive to the needs of the users of both the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts and the Environmental Information Regulations. Political affiliation was not used as criteria for the selection of the User Group members.

Hutton Inquiry

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to her answer of 3 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1666W, on the Hutton Inquiry, who the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary were at 18 July 2003; and what public inquiries each had chaired before that date.

Harriet Harman: The Lords of Appeal in Ordinary in July 2003 were as follows:
	Lord Bingham of Cornhill
	Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead
	Lord Steyn
	Lord Hoffmann
	Lord Hope of Craighead
	Lord Hutton
	Lord Saville of Newdigate
	Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough
	Lord Millett
	Lord Scott of Foscote
	Lord Rodger of Earlsferry
	Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe.
	Public inquiries chaired by each before that date are as follows:
	 Lord Bingham of Cornhill
	Investigation into the supply of petroleum and petroleum products to Rhodesia—Published 1977-78. Bingham Inquiry (Bank of Credit and Commerce International)—Published October 1992.
	 Lord Scott of Foscote
	Scott Inquiry (Inquiry into Exports of Defence Equipment and Dual Use Goods to Iraq)—Published February 1996.
	 Lord Saville of Newdigate
	Bloody Sunday Inquiry: Commenced January 1998.
	 Lord Hutton
	Hutton Inquiry—Published January 2004.

Illegal Immigrants

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many illegal immigrants have been discovered to be employed by her Department in each year since 2001; in what capacities they were employed; how many were discovered as part of a criminal investigation; and what the nature was of the charges brought against them.

Harriet Harman: In the last five years, of those employed in my Department, (excluding agency workers, contractors and consultants) one individual was found, in 2005, to be an illegal immigrant. This individual was employed in a full-time post. He was discovered as the result of an Immigration Officer's investigation into his status. He had provided the correct documentation in obtaining his employment with the Department, but was subsequently found to have made a false statement in order to obtain those documents. He was dismissed immediately.

Immigration Appeals

George Mudie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many immigration appeals from appellants in Leeds were heard in South Shields in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2005.

Bridget Prentice: The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) operates a hearing centre at North Shields. Of the appeals heard at North Shields, in the period April to December 2005, 12 substantive appeals were from appellants with a home address in the Leeds postal area.
	It is not possible to break down the substantive appeals by location of the appellant for any period prior to April 2005 without incurring disproportionate cost.

National Identity Card database

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the merits of allowing the National Identity Card database to be used for electoral registration; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Home Office set out the possible role of the National Identity Register and the National Identity Scheme in relation to electoral registration and voting in its evidence to the House of Commons Constitutional Affairs and ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committees published by the Committees on 16 March 2005.
	Identity cards cannot become compulsory without further primary legislation. Unless, and until, that occurs, the National Identity Register (NIR) could not replace the existing electoral registration process where an annual canvass is used to establish electoral registers.
	Any future proposal to use the NIR to replace the existing electoral registration process would need detailed exploration with the Home Office, and with stakeholders, including electoral registration officers and political parties.
	While the NIR could have a role in improving the quality of the information held on the electoral register and could potentially support the electoral registration process if and when identity cards become mandatory, separate registers could still be required as there are likely to be individuals, such as citizens residing overseas, who may be entitled to vote but may not be on the NIR.

Parliamentary Boundaries

Anthony Steen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1472W, on parliamentary boundaries, when she expects the Committee on Standards in Public Life to publish its review of the functions of the Electoral Commission; and how long after the review is published she expects the Government to decide the timing for transferring responsibility for parliamentary boundaries to the Electoral Commission.

Bridget Prentice: The Committee on Standards in Public Life is independent of the Government and therefore the timing is not a matter for the Government to decide. However, we understand that the Committee aims to complete the review by the "turn of the year". The Government will then consider the recommendations and make a decision as to the timing of the Boundary Commission transfers as soon as possible following publication of the Committee's final report.

Parliamentary Ombudsman

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list those occasions when the recommendations of a report from the Parliamentary Ombudsman have been  (a) rejected and  (b) partly rejected by her Department since 1997.

Bridget Prentice: Since 1997 the DCA and its predecessors, including its executive agencies and NDPBs, have declined to give full effect on two occasions to recommendations made by the Parliamentary Ombudsman. These were both in relation to complaints made under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. The Ombudsman's reports on these two cases are in the Library.

Rape/Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  how many rape cases were abandoned by the Crown Prosecution Service because of failure of the  (a) victim and  (b) accused to attend court proceedings in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many rape cases in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) Bedfordshire were dropped because of witness non-attendance at court proceedings in the last period for which figures are available.

Harriet Harman: In cases listed for trial in the Crown court during the period October 2005 to March 2006 there were eight rape cases where the prosecution ended the case because a witness was absent or withdrawn. There were a further five cases which were adjourned to a later date because a prosecution witness, other than a police officer or expert witness, was absent and an additional 21 cases adjourned because the defendant failed to attend court.
	In England and Wales there were 18 rape cases listed for trial where the trial did not take place through witness non-attendance on the day. Of these eight cases were ended by the prosecution and 10 cases were adjourned and listed for another date. There were no such instances recorded at Luton Crown court in Bedfordshire during this period.
	Figures relating to magistrates court proceedings are not collected centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Rape/Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the maximum number of court appearances was in  (a) domestic violence and  (b) rape cases after which the case failed to be heard in (i) England and Wales, (ii) Luton and (iii) Bedfordshire over the last five years.

Harriet Harman: This information is not collected centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost to the Department.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will bring forward legislation preventing the provision of UK public funding to any organisation or programme which supports or participates in the management of a programme of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilisation; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: We do not intend to bring forward legislation on this issue. The UK does not provide funds to organisations that support or participate in coercive abortion or involuntary sterilisation.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects his Department funds in Burma to support  (a) the Shan ethnic minority and  (b) the Pa-o ethnic minority in Shan state.

Gareth Thomas: DFID funds a number of projects in Shan state: the Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar, to which DFID has committed £10 million over five years, provides anti-retroviral treatment in almost every township; a project to strengthen the capacity of doctors to provide affordable TB and malaria services to low-income people (£393,275 over three years) operates in the north and west of the state; and a programme with Save the Children to provide early childhood care and education (£2.7 million over three years) in the most northern townships. These projects have been designed with the primary purpose of reducing poverty, rather than to support specific ethnic minority groups, any of which are able to access all of these projects.

Burma

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what cross-border aid has been provided to Karen refugees following the Burmese Government's recent military offensive against civilians.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has not provided funds for cross border aid from Thailand for internally displaced people in Burma. We are, however, supporting efforts to provide limited emergency assistance to displaced people from inside Burma and we are providing funding to help support refugees in Thailand.

Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development to what reforms the regime in Burma has agreed to facilitate the new three diseases fund for Burma.

Hilary Benn: The concept of DFID involvement in the new multi-donor fund to tackle HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Burma was agreed by Ministers in March 2006, but the detail of the project has yet to be finally approved. In the process of preparing for a decision, DFID is, with the other donor partners, involved in a process of consultation with the regime in Burma to ensure that they do not seek to apply restrictions which would prevent the effective operation of the Three Diseases Fund.

Congo

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Hilary Benn: The humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is very serious across the country, especially in the eastern provinces of Katanga (particularly North Katanga), North and South Kivu and Province Orientale (especially Ituri district). The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that approximately 1.6 million people are internally displaced and over 300,000 are refugees in neighbouring countries.
	Increased conflict in North Katanga since November last year has led to a rise in displacement and this has contributed to a much higher monthly average of new displacements in 2006 compared to 2005, at over 100,000 newly displaced per month compared to 35,000 per month last year. It is hoped that the recent surrender of a Mayi-Mayi commander from that region may lead to greater stability.
	Elsewhere in the East, external armed groups such as the Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) in the Kivus and other rebels groups operating in Ituri, as well as ill-disciplined brigades of the DRC army, are committing abuses such as theft and violence, including high levels of sexual violence, against the civilian population. Operations by the Congolese army against the armed groups, often carried out jointly with MONUC (UN Peacekeeping force in the DRC), are frequently the cause of civilian displacement.
	Mechanisms are in place to get assistance to those who need it quickly, but lack of access due to insecurity and logistical difficulties can lead to delays.
	The UK has strongly supported efforts by the UN to mobilise greater international funding to meet humanitarian needs. DFID has increased UK humanitarian support to the DRC to £60 million over two years. Some other countries have also increased funding, but overall support remains far too low to meet all the needs. The DRC remains a neglected crisis. I have called on my donor counterparts to do more and will continue to keep up the pressure to ensure that funding is forthcoming to meet all the desperate needs in the DRC.

Foreign Travel

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent on foreign travel by his Department in each of the last eight years.

Gareth Thomas: Figures for travel costs within administration cost budgets for years which information is readily available are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   £000 
			 2001-02 2,358 
			 2002-03 2,645 
			 2003-04 10,677 
			 2004-05 13,337 
			 2005-06 12,646 
		
	
	The figures for travel reflect all domestic and overseas travel for Ministers, Advisers and Officials and include costs for all travel, accommodation and subsistence. It is not possible to disaggregate costs for Officials' travel overseas without incurring a disproportionate cost. Information for earlier years is not readily available and in some cases will no longer be held.
	In 2003-04, DFID introduced new procedures to draw together administration costs, including those travel costs which had previously been recorded on the programme budget. These changes have increased transparency and have enabled DFID to manage administration costs more effectively. Figures for 2003-04 onwards now include travel costs that were previously funded by country programmes and as a result are not comparable with earlier years.
	Since 1999, the Government have published, on an annual basis, the total costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. This information is available in the Library. Information for the financial year 2004-05 was published on 21 July 2005,  Official Report, column 158WS. Information for the financial year 2005-06 is in the process of being collated and will be published shortly.
	All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules contained in DFID's Staff Handbook and complies with the Civil Service Management Code.

Indonesia

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for how long the UK will provide assistance to the area affected by the recent Indonesian earthquake.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's £5 million contribution towards humanitarian relief is for immediate use (£1 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross/Crescent, £3 million to the UN and £1 million to NGOs).
	We will consider further financial support covering the next two years, based upon requests from the Indonesian Government.

Sierra Leone

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Sierra Leone.

Hilary Benn: The situation in Sierra Leone is stable and the country has made considerable progress since the end of the civil war in 2002. This was confirmed by the withdrawal of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, UNAMSIL in December 2005. However, considerable challenges remain and the state is fragile. Current threats to continued stability include frustration resulting from large-scale unemployment, particularly among young men, and the weak capacity of government to deliver basic services. Poverty is high, with 70 per cent. estimated to be living below the poverty line. The run-up to the 2007 elections is likely to be a period of increased tension within the country and insecurity in other countries in the region may also present challenges to continued stability.
	Sierra Leone is currently ranked 176 out of 177 on the Human Development Index and continues to have some of the worst health indicators in the world, particularly in terms of maternal and child mortality. Malaria is a major cause of death. There are occasional epidemics of cholera and Lassa fever poses a regional threat in the east of the country.
	There are currently approximately 40,000 refugees in Sierra Leone principally from Liberia. With improved stability in Liberia, many of these have started, or are preparing to go home. Since January 2006, some 9,000 have returned. DFID has supported the care and maintenance of Liberian refugees in camps across the region for some years, and more recently has financed their repatriation from Sierra Leone and other countries. In 2005, £1.1 million was committed for these objectives, and this year, a further £700,000 has been allocated. In addition, DFID has spent over £3.5 million per year for the last three years to help rebuild Liberia and thereby encourage refugees from Sierra Leone and other countries to return home.
	DFID's programme since the end of the war has concentrated on security and rebuilding government institutions and these will remain an important component of the country programme. The programme is currently developing its strategy for the next three years, and as part of this is exploring options for expanding its work in the areas of basic services, economic development and job creation. Through our country-office in Freetown, and from Africa Division's Conflict and Humanitarian Unit in London, we are monitoring the humanitarian situation closely.

South America

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what academic research is  (a) being undertaken and  (b) planned on the Department's South America policy.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's central policy in the region is to deliver its assistance to Latin America (including both Central and South America) through its Regional Assistance Plan 2004-2007; copies of this document are available in the Libraries of the House.
	Within the framework of this Plan, programmes are tackling regional issues such as HIV-AIDS; improving the impact of the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank on poverty and inequality; strengthening national development strategies and donor alignment; and improving understanding of the impact of trade on poverty in Latin America. Analytical and research work is supported as part of these programmes. DFID's Regional Assistance Plan and policy for Latin America is scheduled to be reviewed in early 2007.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make an urgent assessment of the impact of disease outbreaks in internally displaced persons camps in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: The only significant disease outbreak currently affecting Darfur is that of the 75 cases of acute watery diarrhoea in South Darfur. The outbreak has so far claimed four lives in the state, with cases concentrated in Nyala, Kass and EI-Daein towns. The first report of the outbreak was on 24 May 2006 and all four deaths to date occurred on 24-25 May 2006. This reflects the effective planning and response by the Government and humanitarian agencies. Although, the vast majority of cases have been amongst town residents rather than in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, the unconfirmed reports of a case in Gereida, where 100,000 IDPs have sought shelter, is of concern.
	The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Health have established a task force to co-ordinate the response. In accordance with their contingency plans, a public health campaign has been launched, broadcasting hygiene promotion messages on local TV and radio. The immediate response has also included the mapping of cases, identifying high risk areas for chlorination of water supplies and testing. In preparation for an outbreak, the WHO stockpiled cholera treatment kits across Darfur. These have proved invaluable in enabling the immediate response. In addition, a Cholera Treatment Centre has been set up in Nyala with the capacity to handle 50 patients a day.

Water Access

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to support public-public partnerships as a means of improving access to clean water and sanitation in the developing world.

Hilary Benn: I attach great importance to ensuring increased access to safe water supply and sanitation in the developing world and have recently committed to doubling DFID's expenditure on the provision of these basic services in Africa to £95 million by 2007-08. However, while we recognise the importance of 'public-public' partnerships, our focus is on a pragmatic approach led by our partner countries, to ensure we are doing what works, and recognising that there can be failures of both private and public models.
	In practice, the majority of our work on rural, urban and humanitarian water supply and sanitation services is spent through Governments, not-for-profit or humanitarian agencies (this was around 95 per cent. of our bilateral spend in 2003-04). We are currently actively involved in seven African countries (Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia). In these countries our effort is focused on helping Government and donors deliver more effective water services. We are engaged in sector working groups which aim to promote partnerships (including within the public sector and civil society) that will deliver effective services on the ground and increase access for poor people through better co-ordination at both national and local level.
	I am closely monitoring our progress in water and sanitation and DFID publishes regular updates on our website. The latest update is available on DFID's website at www.dfid.gov.uk

Water Access

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to assist poorer countries in improving their water supplies.

Hilary Benn: DFID is committed to helping achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe water by 2015. Our programmes are focused on sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, where achieving the target will be most difficult.
	DFID's Water and Sanitation strategy was set out in the 2004 Water Action plan. The Secretary of State has reinforced DFID's commitment to doing more in his speeches on World Water day in March 2005, and at DFID's External Water Forum in February 2006.
	DFID is committed to doubling spending on water in Africa to £95 million by 2008. We are currently actively involved in seven African countries (Ethiopia, DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia), up from only two years ago; and through our funding of other agencies' programmes, we reach many other countries. We are also committed to creating an international system that works more effectively than it does now. We work closely with the World Bank, which is now more focused on water, and with UN Water, to improve co-ordination of the UN agencies operating water and sanitation programmes.
	DFID closely monitors progress in water and sanitation and publishes regular updates on the DFID website. The latest update is available on DFID's website at www.dfid.gov.uk

World Bank

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what key proposals he made to the World Bank Spring Meeting; what decisions the Bank took on  (a) these proposals and  (b) other matters; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Major UK objectives for the World Bank 2006 Spring Meeting were delivery on 2005 commitments, governance and corruption, climate change and clean energy, and the Investment Climate Facility (ICF) for Africa. The Development Committee focused its discussion on two World Bank documents: (i) The Global Monitoring Report (GMR) 2006: Strengthening Mutual Accountability—Aid, Trade and Governance and (ii) Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework.
	The GMR sets out clearly the progress that has been made on tackling poverty, and the challenges that remain. We noted that almost all developing countries are off-track to meet at least some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the lack of progress in Africa is especially worrying. More aid is clearly essential, and it must be delivered more effectively. We called on the World Bank, other bilateral and multilateral agencies to take action, and ensure that we live up to the commitments made in Paris on aid effectiveness last year, including a country-based approach. The Results and Resources Frameworks, first suggested in the Bank's Africa Action Plan, are a good vehicle for improving mutual accountability and we urged the Bank to develop and implement them quickly. We also called on donors to give more emphasis to assisting the poorest countries, including fragile states and make commitments to increased and long-term resources for education so that developing countries can fully finance their education plans over the long-term.
	The Development Committee agreed that donors should fully implement the commitments they have made for substantial increases in aid volumes, and that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have a key role in helping countries ensure that increases in aid volumes can be absorbed effectively, consistent with macro-economic stability and growth objectives. Rapid progress was required to implement the framework agreed in the Paris Declaration for enhancing aid effectiveness through a stronger focus on results. Donors need to improve the quality of aid, modalities of aid delivery to reduce volatility, achieve greater predictability, and provide stronger alignment with national poverty reduction strategies. They were encouraged where possible to move towards multi-year plans and commitments, and be ready to finance recurrent costs where sector policies are sound and fiduciary conditions are adequate. The Committee agreed that the World Bank and other partners should improve their coordination at the country level, particularly in strengthening health services and improving access to good quality education, to reduce transaction costs and help increase absorptive capacity. Donors should fill the Education Fast Track Initiative current financing gap and a progress report on Education for All should be submitted to the Annual Meeting in Singapore. The Committee urged the Bank to implement the annual Results and Resources Frameworks.
	The focus of this year's GMR was governance. Prior to the Development Committee, I wrote an article on corruption and participated in a forum on governance and corruption at the Center for Global Development in Washington. At the Committee, I underlined that governance was critical for development and achieving the MDGs, and an essential element of the compact between developing countries, developed countries and international institutions. Only countries themselves can make the decisive changes that are needed. However, donors can help the process of creating more effective states and it is vital that we assist. The proposed Bank framework for monitoring provided a practical and useful starting point, and should be developed further to include aspects such as the extent to which the state responds to the wishes of the people, particularly the poor. We strongly supported the message in the report that corruption is an outcome of poor governance, and caused by a number of failures of national and global systems. It should not be tolerated; but we made clear that our work on tackling corruption needs to get better at addressing the failures, and connect better with the people who have the power and motivation to do something about it. The international community must work collaboratively and take a firm line on the need to tackle and prevent corruption. It must not equate to doing nothing in poor countries where corruption is an issue. Instead, we must find more effective ways of engaging.
	I called on the World Bank to develop a framework for assisting developing countries with their long-term efforts to improve governance, and tackle corruption where it needs addressing. The framework will need to include how we can best ensure that aid is used for the purpose for which it was intended. This will include strong, independent units to detect and investigate fraud; strengthening national financial and accountability systems more effectively; and how to address the corruption that comes from beyond national borders, including developing global initiatives, such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. We urged the World Bank to consult widely in taking forward this work, recognising that addressing governance failures will require action from all parts of the international community, not only from developing countries. It is essential that the framework commands broad support.
	The Development Committee endorsed these views and the main messages of the report. It called on the World Bank to develop and submit to the Annual Meetings in Singapore a broad strategy for helping member countries strengthen governance and deepen the fight against corruption, with clear guidelines for World Bank operations.
	On clean energy and development, I made clear that the effects of climate change are already being felt in many developing countries and will seriously impact our global efforts to reduce poverty and meet the MDGs. Responsibility for mitigating climate change requires urgent action on the part of richer countries, while some fast-growing middle-income countries must shift to cleaner, more efficient energy production to avoid exacerbating the problem. Meanwhile, developing countries need access to affordable, reliable and clean energy to grow their economies and to lift people out of poverty. We urged the international community to act now to support countries to do this in a sustainable way and so achieve a double-dividend of poverty reduction and environmental protection. Helping member countries meet these challenges should be a key objective of the World Bank and other multilateral development banks over the coming years.
	We welcomed the valuable work undertaken already in the World Bank to develop an investment framework to accelerate investment in clean energy, energy efficiency and adaptation to climate change. This now needs to be developed further into an ambitious global investment framework based on sound analysis of existing financial resources and identification of gaps where new instruments are needed. We urged the World Bank to work closely with the multilateral development banks, private sector and civil society to create a global joint investment framework to be presented at the Annual Meetings in Singapore. The Development Committee endorsed the importance of this work and asked the Bank to submit a report on progress towards an investment framework in September.
	In the margins of the Spring Meetings, I co-hosted with President Wolfowitz a meeting to raise awareness among donors and African countries of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa. African governments and institutions know that creating the right environment in which people and firms feel comfortable investing their money is crucial for Africa's prosperity. If Africa is to achieve the growth necessary to meet the MDGs, the business environment must improve significantly. Boosting African growth and poverty reduction is, ultimately, what the ICF is all about. I urged donors to co-fund the ICF and cooperate operationally so that it can add value and truly be complementary to existing work. African participants welcomed the formation of the ICF with its strong African ownership. Donors (including the International Finance Corporation and the European Commission) and companies have also responded positively and the ICF was launched in Africa on 1 June.

World Bank

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development to what extent the World Bank and International Monetary Fund require developing countries to liberalise their economies as a condition for aid; and what recent changes have been made to their policies on liberalisation.

Hilary Benn: In 2004, the World Bank abolished its practice of "prescriptive conditionally", which meant countries were urged to adopt specific economic policies to receive budgetary support. The UK pressed for a review of the World Bank's use of conditionality, and this concluded in September 2005. The World Bank undertook analysis of previous practice and recent thinking, and sought contributions and views from many sources, including developing countries. I made a written submission, setting out the Government's stance, and particularly emphasising the importance of country ownership in setting the development agenda. The review report has been published and is available on the World Bank website at www.worldbank.org . It showed that the use of conditionality in sensitive areas, such as trade liberalisation and privatisation, had declined in recent years. The review also proposed five good practice principles to guide the World Bank's use of conditionality, and these were endorsed by ministers.
	The principles are:
	 Ownership
	Conditionality should reinforce, not undermine, country ownership of policies and programmes.
	 Harmonisation
	Conditionality should be agreed up-front with the government and with other donors, as part of a wider framework for assessing progress on poverty reduction.
	 Customisation
	Conditionality should reflect country circumstances.
	 Criticality
	Conditionality that determines whether to release money should include only those actions that are critical for the programme's success.
	 Transparency
	Conditionality should be specified so that it can be reviewed transparently, and so ensure that the Bank's financial support is predictable.
	The World Bank will be reporting back in the next few months on how it has implemented these principles.
	The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also improved its practice on conditionality in recent years. The conditionality guidelines approved by the IMF in 2002 are similar to those adopted by the World Bank. A review of IMF conditionality last year demonstrated a sharper focus on core areas of the Fund's remit in macroeconomic management and a reduction in conditions on privatisation and liberalisation. A separate review of the Fund's trade policy and conditions showed a sharp reduction in overall conditions on trade policy since the adoption of the guidelines. In addition, it demonstrated a shift towards conditions on trade governance, such as reforming customs administration, and away from trade policy such as tariffs. The Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF is currently undertaking a study to look at the process of setting conditionality on economic reforms, which is expected to report later this year.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Benefit Fraud

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland were prosecuted for illegally obtaining benefits in 2005-06.

David Hanson: 191 people have been prosecuted for illegally obtaining benefits in Northern Ireland in the 2005-06 financial year.

Birth/Abortion Statistics

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) live births and  (b) abortions there were in Northern Ireland in 2005.

David Hanson: The number of live births registered to mothers resident in Northern Ireland in 2005 was 22,328.
	The Abortion Act 1967 does not extend to Northern Ireland. Consequently the termination of a pregnancy is not permitted except where necessary to save the life of the mother or where continuation of the pregnancy would involve risk of serious injury to her physical or mental health.
	Information on the number of abortions in 2005 is not yet available. In 2004 there were 2,324 admissions to hospitals in Northern Ireland with a diagnosis of abortion, which includes miscarriage and unintentional loss of the foetus, 59 of these were medical abortions.

Businesses

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many small to medium businesses have gone into receivership in the Province in the last three years, broken down by Westminster constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the number of administrative receiverships in small to medium Northern Ireland businesses in the last three years.
	
		
			  Administrative receiverships 
			  Year ending 31 March  Number 
			 2004 8 
			 2005 4 
			 2006 1 
		
	
	The information is not held by Northern Ireland constituency and is therefore not readily available in the format requested.

Businesses

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) personal bankruptcies and  (b) company failures have taken place in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the number of personal bankruptcies and company failures for the last financial year.
	
		
			  Year ending 31 March 2006 
			   Number 
			 Bankruptcies ("personal") 892 
			 Compulsory Liquidations 89 
			 Creditors' Voluntary Liquidations 53

Child Support Agency

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have been non-compliant with a Child Support Agency assessment in each year since 2000.

David Hanson: The number of people who have been non-compliant with a Child Support Agency assessment in each year since 2000 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of people 
			 2000-01 2,039 
			 2001-02 1,866 
			 2002-03 1,736 
			 2003-04 2,366 
			 2004-05 3,455 
			 2005-06 4,274

Child Support Agency

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in how many cases in Northern Ireland the Child Support Agency ordered a deduction from earnings to be made in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: In each of the last five years, the Child Support Agency has ordered a Deduction from Earnings Order in the following number of cases:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001-02 1,274 
			 2002-03 1,432 
			 2003-04 2,218 
			 2004-05 1,694 
			 2005-06 2,303

Child Support Agency

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost was of running the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: The total running costs over the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			   Costs (£ million) 
			 2001-02 11.380 
			 2002-03 13.500 
			 2003-04 15.023 
			 2004-05 15.046 
			 2005-06 16.225 
		
	
	The expenditure covers normal operating costs and costs attributed to the child support reforms. The breakdown for the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Operating costs  Child support reforms 
			 2001-02 9.301 2.079 
			 2002-03 10.225 3.275 
			 2003-04 11.130 3.893 
			 2004-05 11.620 3.426 
			 2005-06 12.209 4.016 
		
	
	Please note the Annual Report and Accounts of the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency for the financial year 2005-06 are still subject to review by Audit.

Child Support Agency

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much maintenance was paid through the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: In each of the last five years, the amount of maintenance paid through the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland was as follows:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2001-02 11,651,761 
			 2002-03 12,495,532 
			 2003-04 12,646,535 
			 2004-05 13,000,061 
			 2005-06 13,225,567

Child Support Agency

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff worked for the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: The number of staff (measured as whole-time equivalent) who have worked for the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland on Northern Ireland business in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of staff 
			 2001-02 412 
			 2002-03 459 
			 2003-04 478 
			 2004-05 445 
			 2005-06 480 
		
	
	Information prior to the financial year 2001-02 has been archived and is therefore not readily available.

Child Support Agency

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints were registered with the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland in each year since 1998.

David Hanson: The number of complaints registered with the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland in each year since 1998 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1998-99 Data not available 
			 1999-2000 198 
			 2000-01 173 
			 2001-02 216 
			 2002-03 173 
			 2003-04 288 
			 2004-05 528 
			 2005-06 783 
		
	
	In the financial year 1998-99 the Northern Ireland Customer Services section devolved responsibility for customer complaints to individual teams. Problems in the uniformity of recording complaints resulted in the data not presenting a true reflection of the numbers received.

Departmental Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will keep a separate total for the annual amount spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes in each Department in Northern Ireland, including his Office.

David Hanson: There are no plans to separately record expenditure on alcohol at this time. However, all Departments separately monitor spend on hospitality generally in accordance with principles set out by HM Treasury and in line with the practicality of financial coding.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what incentives are available to encourage members of staff in  (a) each Northern Ireland Department and  (b) the Northern Ireland Office to use public transport for travelling to and from work.

David Cairns: Government policy is to encourage the use of sustainable travel and Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office may offer advances of salary to assist staff with the purchase of season tickets.
	Translink, through its Corporate Commuter Initiative, encourages both public and private sector employees to use public transport to and from their workplace. Under this initiative, Translink has worked with the Department for Social Development, the Department for Employment and Learning and the Department for Culture Arts and Leisure providing assistance to staff such as personalised transport plans.
	The Travelwise Scheme operated by Roads Service, provides advice to all Northern Ireland Government Departments on workplace travel plans and encourages sustainable travel, including the greater use of public transport.

Domiciliary Care Workers

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what rate per mile is paid for travel carried out by domiciliary care workers in each of the Northern Ireland health and social services trusts.

Paul Goggins: The actual rate of travel for HPSS employees is a matter for the employer to decide and up-to-date information on the rates in payment is not held centrally. It will take some time to collate this information and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available and place a copy in the Library.
	 Substantive answer from Paul Goggins to Mr. Gregory Campbell:
	
		
			  Mileage rates paid to domiciliary care workers 
			  Trust  Mileage rate 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust Public transport rate 
			 Causeway HSS Trust Public transport rate 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community Trust Public transport rate 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust Public transport rate 
			 Foyle Community Trust Public transport rate 
			 Homefirst Community Trust Public transport rate 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust Public transport rate 
			 North and West Belfast Community Trust Bus fares reimbursed up to a maximum of £2.00. 
			 South and East Belfast Community Trust Domiciliary care workers (now referred to as intensive homecare workers) receive regular users allowance or standard rates depending on the mileage completed and the engine size of the car. The majority of homehelp staff are paid at public transport rate; however, there are three homehelps who receive a regular user allowance in light of special duties carried out. 
			 Sperrin Lakeland Trust Travel time paid at £6.25 per hour, where appropriate. 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust Standard rates or regular user depending on the mileage completed and the engine size of the car.  Or if the individual satisfies certain criteria he/she may apply for a leased car. The mileage rate for a leased car is 13.4 pence per mile. 
		
	
	 Regular user allowance is paid to employees who are designated by their employer as an essential car user (but it is uneconomic or not possible to offer a leased car) and where in the course of their employment they are required to travel either:
	1. An average of more than 3,500 miles a year; or
	2. An average of at least 1,250 miles a year and uses their car on average three days a week or spend 50 per cent. of their time on travel; or
	3. An average of at least 1,000 miles a year and use their car on average four days a week.
	
		
			  Engine capacity  Up to 1000cc  1001cc to 1500cc  Over 1500cc 
			 Lump sum (£) 508 626 760 
			 Up to 9,000 miles (pence) 27 33.5 40 
			 Thereafter (pence) 16.2 18.3 20.5 
		
	
	 Standard rate is paid to employees who use their own vehicle for official business but do not satisfy the criterion for a regular user.
	
		
			  Engine capacity  Up to 1000cc  1001cc to 1500cc  Over 1500cc 
			 Up to 3,500 miles (pence) 34 43 53 
			 Thereafter (pence) 16.2 18.3 20.5 
		
	
	 Public transport mileage rate is payable at 23p per mile where the employer deems that standard or regular user rates do not apply.

European Evidence Warrant

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the European Evidence Warrant on cross border crime; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: I welcome agreement on the European Evidence Warrant which will improve and speed up the process of obtaining evidence from other member states for use in criminal proceedings.
	Investigators and prosecutors require an effective system that delivers the evidence they require within a reasonable time. This is essential to combat terrorism and other serious, organised crime which involves an international element.

Historical Inquiry Team

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of the Historical Inquiry Team's (HIT) budget has been set aside to investigate the murder of Robert and Thomas Dobson in Moy on 16 May 1976; and if he will make a statement on the HIT's investigation into this case.

Paul Goggins: The Government have committed a total of £34 million, over six years, to the Unresolved Deaths project. Of this amount, the Historical Inquiry Team (HIT) has been allocated £24.2 million to review unresolved deaths relating to the security situation in Northern Ireland from 1968 to April 1998, and assist in bringing resolution for the families of victims affected by these deaths.
	The HIT have confirmed that the deaths of Robert and Thomas Dobson will come within their remit. Of the funding provided to the HIT, there is no set amount allocated for each case. Spend on individual cases will not be known until the review of such cases is taken forward, as this depends on what work is required to be done and if any new evidential opportunities exist.

Hospital Treatment

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many heart bypass operations were carried out in NHS hospitals in Northern Ireland in each year since 1995.

Paul Goggins: The number of heart bypass operations performed in hospitals in Northern Ireland in each year since 1994-95 is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Heart bypass operations in Northern Ireland 
			   Number 
			 1994-95 845 
			 1995-96 872 
			 1996-97 872 
			 1997-98 834 
			 1998-99 763 
			 1999-2000 599 
			 2000-01 581 
			 2001-02 501 
			 2002-03 530 
			 2003-04 483 
			 2004-05 560 
			  Source: Hospital In-patients System.

Housing Stock

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what housing stock is held by the Housing Executive in  (a) each Belfast district and  (b) Castlereagh district; and how many houses have been sold in each area in the last 10 years.

David Hanson: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Housing Executive District Office  Stock at 31 March 2006  House sales completed from the financial year ending 1996-1997 to end of May 2006 
			 Belfast 1 2,146 1,486 
			 Belfast 2 3,676 1,298 
			 Belfast 3 3,215 1,726 
			 Belfast 4 3,643 1,193 
			 Belfast 5 3,694 811 
			 Belfast 6 3,256 1,009 
			 Belfast 7 4,119 1,457 
			 Castlereagh 3,919 1,673

Illegal Immigrants

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many illegal immigrants have been discovered to be employed by his Department in each year since 2001; in what capacities they were employed; how many were discovered as part of a criminal investigation; and what the nature of the charges brought against them were.

Paul Goggins: Since 2001 the Northern Ireland Office is unaware of having employed any illegal immigrants.

Local Authorities

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the expected cost savings are from the Government's plan to reduce the number of local authorities in Northern Ireland.

David Cairns: Savings from the Review of Public Administration (RPA) decisions on local government have been estimated at £54-£73 million. The final figures will depend on how the proposals are implemented.
	More robust cost models will be evolved as part of the process of developing and delivering an implementation programme for the RPA as it impacts on local government. All savings achieved will be available for reallocation to front-line services in Northern Ireland.

Modernisation Fund

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for the Modernisation Fund  (a) have been received by the Department for Social Development and  (b) have been successful.

David Hanson: The Department for Social Development has received 163 applications for funding from the Modernisation Fund Revenue Programme. The 40 highest scoring organisations have now proceeded to the final stage of the assessment process and are undergoing detailed economic appraisal. Successful applicants will begin to be notified within four weeks. All 163 organisations who applied have been contacted by the Department and advised of the status of their application.

Northern Ireland Police Fund

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1489W, on Northern Ireland Police Fund, why the Department does not maintain a record of the community breakdown of staff; and whether members of staff in the Northern Ireland Police Funds are required to complete a community background check as part of the appointment process.

Paul Goggins: Given the status of the Northern Ireland Police Fund, appointment processes including community background checks are a matter for the board of directors of the Fund. I have been advised by the Northern Ireland Police Fund that in accordance with Article 48(2) of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 community background details are not required to be held in respect of the staff.

Police Complaints

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints against the Police Service of Northern Ireland were received by the Police Ombudsman in 2005-06.

Paul Goggins: The Police Ombudsman has advised that 3,108 complaints against the Police Service of Northern Ireland were received by the Police Ombudsman in 2005-06.

Security Forces (Republic of Ireland)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1605W, on security forces (Republic of Ireland), why no record is kept of occasions when security forces from the Republic of Ireland enter Northern Ireland with the consent of UK authorities while on operation.

Paul Goggins: PSNI "operations" are broadly defined as duties which include all manner of policing activities such as anti-terrorism, combating drug-smuggling, briefings, presentations, joint enquiries, investigations etc. These activities will, of necessity, cross many District Command Units and Departments and the resultant records are likely to number in the thousands. To quantify the number of occasions during which operations from the Irish Republic have, with consent, crossed into Northern Ireland would, therefore, be time-consuming and disproportionately costly.

Sinn Fein/IRA Stormont Spy Ring

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were interviewed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in connection with the Sinn Fein/IRA Stormont spy ring; and how many files recommending prosecution were forwarded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland to the Public Prosecution Service.

Paul Goggins: Five people in total were arrested by the PSNI in connection with this incident. Four of the five people were subsequently recommended for prosecution. This was split into two prosecution files.

Taxis

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many licensed taxi drivers are operating in Northern Ireland.

David Cairns: At 15 June 2006 there were 16,880 licensed taxi drivers in Northern Ireland.

Toxic Sludge

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2006,  Official Report, column 786W, on toxic sludge, to which local government authority areas the four prosecution cases by the Environment and Heritage Service relate.

David Cairns: The Environment and Heritage Service is investigating four incidents involving spreading of sludges to land in breach of regulations. The council areas to which these relate are Moyle, Londonderry, Lisburn and Craigavon.

Waste Management

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much grant has been allocated to each local government authority in Northern Ireland for waste management for 2006-07.

David Cairns: The total capital grant for 2006-07 is £7,000,000, the details of which are set out as follows:
	
		
			  Capital grant for 2006-07 
			  Council  £ 
			 Antrim 204,263 
			 Ards 302,115 
			 Armagh 225,226 
			 Ballymena 247,825 
			 Ballymoney 117,565 
			 Banbridge 178,833 
			 Belfast 1,097,774 
			 Carrickfergus 155,206 
			 Castlereagh 261,785 
			 Coleraine 235,162 
			 Cookstown 139,807 
			 Craigavon 332,791 
			 Derry 427,525 
			 Down 272,819 
			 Dungannon 204,990 
			 Fermanagh 260,851 
			 Larne 129,562 
			 Limavady 141,851 
			 Lisburn 441,807 
			 Magherafelt 169,343 
			 Moyle 74,516 
			 Newry/Mourne 365,912 
			 Newtownabbey 320,788 
			 North Down 312,077 
			 Omagh 214,587 
			 Strabane 165,020 
			 Total 7,000,000

WORK AND PENSIONS

Action Teams

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1475-78W, to the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), on action teams, how many whole-time equivalent staff are allocated to each action team; and how many were allocated to each in the two previous years.

Anne McGuire: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Departmental Staff

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) black and Asian and  (b) other people are employed in his Department's press office.

Anne McGuire: As at 31 May 2006 the total number of people employed in the Department's press office, including all management and admin staff is 61.
	Information on ethnicity is collected on a voluntary basis. On grounds of confidentiality we are unable to provide the information requested on how many black and Asian staff are employed within press office.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many of his staff are  (a) under and  (b) over 55 years of age;
	(2)  how many people over the age of 55 years have been recruited into his Department in each of the last three years.

Anne McGuire: The number of staff in the Department aged under 55 years and over 55 years of age is in the following table.
	
		
			   Headcount  Full-time equivalent (FTE) 
			 Under 55 years 113,641 102,668 
			 Over 55 years 16,434 15,010 
			  Notes: 1. Staff numbers are point in time as at 31 December 2005. 2. Figures include temporary staff. 3. Staffing for Health and Safety Executive not included. 
		
	
	The number of recruits to the Department over the age of 55 years in each of the last three years is in the following table.
	
		
			  Year ending December:  Headcount  FTE 
			 2003 44 40 
			 2004 481 448 
			 2005 423 402 
			  Note: Figures include temporary staff.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what incentives are available to encourage members of his staff to use public transport for travelling to and from work.

Jim Murphy: The Department for Work and Pensions offers incentives to staff to encourage more sustainable forms of travel; these include salary advances for the purchase of season travel tickets. Concessionary bus passes are available in some locations.
	The Department promotes sustainable travel to work. 'Sustainable Transport Travel' pages are available on the intranet. The travel pages promote awareness of travel options and include a copy of the departmental generic travel plan. Details of greener forms of transport are also included in the departmental induction pack.

Employment and Support Allowance Claimants

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the proposed criteria are for the reserved circumstances group of employment and support allowance claimants; and how these will be decided.

Jim Murphy: The new employment and support allowance will focus on how we can help people into work and will not automatically assume that because a person has a specific health condition or disability they are incapable of work.
	We are still developing details of the criteria that will decide whether a person's physical or mental functions are so severely limited that it would be unreasonable to require them to engage in work-related activity. We want to ensure that the criteria are based on functional ability, not on diagnosis, and that they will correctly identify those who should receive benefit without having to take part in work-related activity, without dismissing those for whom engagement is possible.
	In developing the criteria, we are taking into account the comments that have been made in response to the Government's consultation paper.

Employment Services (Disabled People)

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to consult on the review of employment services for disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: It is our intention to formally consult later this year on the proposals emerging from the review of services for disabled people.

Free TV Licences

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on the provision of free television licences for over 75-year-olds in  (a) Coventry and  (b) the West Midlands in each of the last five years.

James Purnell: The information requested is not available. TV licence expenditure figures are not available broken down by constituency or Government office region.

Illegal Immigrants (Benefits)

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has been made of the total amount of benefits paid to illegal immigrants in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: Illegal immigrants are not entitled to DWP administered benefits.

Jobcentre Plus

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how, under its Employer Engagement Strategy, local resources in Jobcentre Plus will be matched to services required by major national employers; and how  (a) consistency of service delivery across the country and  (b) effective communication and liaison between specialist delivery teams will be ensured.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how, under our Employer Engagement Strategy local resources in Jobcentre Plus will be matched to services required by major national employers; and how consistency of service delivery across the country and effective communication and liaison between specialist delivery teams will be ensured. This is something, which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus has a National Sales Team that provides an account management service to our major national employers. The Account Managers work at a strategic level to develop and agree Service Level Agreements with these companies. These Service Level Agreements are communicated to geographically-based Account Managers who ensure that they are used as a basis to agree local solutions to meet individual recruitment needs. The same Account Managers are responsible for engaging with service delivery colleagues within Jobcentres to resolve any issues involving employer requirements or service delivery.
	In addition to this, the National Sales Team is fully committed and engaged in the Employer Engagement Strategy at all levels of Jobcentre Plus through Vacancy Planning. Working with delivery colleagues, they are able to ensure that regional and district plans reflect the current and future needs of national employers.
	In support of these activities Jobcentre Plus will shortly be introducing the Employer Relationship Management IT system, which will provide an unprecedented level of data on employers and the labour market in general. Analysis of this data will allow Jobcentre Plus to provide tailored services that meet the needs of employers.
	Employer engagement strategies and marketing campaigns will all emanate from this new system and local resources will be channelled accordingly. Consistency of service will be ensured across the whole of Jobcentre Plus as access to the system will be restricted to key decision makers, such as the Account Managers, who manage the interests of the major national employers and will be able to communicate appropriate strategies throughout the organisation.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are being taken to improve liaison between Jobcentre Plus and  (a) other parts of his Department and  (b) other Government Departments and agencies.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the steps being taken to improve the liaison between Jobcentre Plus and (a) the other parts of his Department and (b) other Government departments and agencies. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Our new organisational structures, introduced in April, place a new focus on effective partnership working. At Board level this is provided through a Director of External Relations and Communication; and at strategic and operational levels we have external relations functions that maximise the effectiveness of our national, regional and local partnerships.
	In particular we now have a team specifically responsible for leading on our relationships with the key governmental organisations with whom we work to deliver our shared agenda on social security and benefit issues affecting our customers. They are in the process of reviewing existing partnership agreements, setting up new ones where they do not already exist and reviewing and improving day to day liaison arrangements. Organisations within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) covered by this work include the Child Support Agency, Debt Management, the Disability and Carers Service and The Pension Service. Outside DWP the work covers Local Authorities, the Tribunal Service, the Veterans Agency and HM Revenue and Customs.
	In parallel Jobcentre Plus works with a range of other Government organisations nationally to improve opportunities for people to move into and stay in work. These organisations include, for example, Regional Development Agencies, the devolved administrations, and the Learning and Skills Council. We also work closely on a wide range of issues with the Home Office's Prison and Probation Services (National Offender Management Service) and Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Opportunities are continually sought to strengthen liaison across all of these partnerships.

Jobcentre Plus

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the introduction of the Adviser Achievement Tool into Jobcentre Plus.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding the introduction of the Adviser Achievement Tool (AAT) into Jobcentre Plus. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The AAT was introduced in April 2006 to ensure all our advisers make an effective contribution to Jobcentre Plus' aims, and to identify those advisers who may need additional help to achieve this. The AAT supports the new Job Outcome Target which introduces a change to the way performance is measured. All job outcomes will count towards achievement of this target, not just those achieved through Jobcentre Plus notified vacancies or financial initiatives. Advisers will no longer have individual points targets linked to job entries as part of their personal objectives.
	The AAT has been designed to improve adviser performance and strengthen the support for advisers and their managers. It reflects the new approach to evaluating individual performance which is required under the new target regime. It is supplemented by individually tailored Improvement Plans which managers and advisers will use to address personal development issues. It is intended that the AAT will provide an indicator of advisers' performance and will help their managers to regularly monitor adviser achievements.
	Adviser managers will not rely on the AAT alone to deliver performance improvements. Other activities such as mandatory observations from the Quality Assurance Framework must also be undertaken on a regular basis, in conjunction with agreed individual objectives as part of the Department's internal Performance Development System.
	We will be evaluating and refining the AAT throughout the year as the Job Outcome Target system becomes more established and we learn more about the blend of quality and productivity information needed to optimise individual adviser performance.
	I hope this is helpful.

Medical Assessments

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of medical assessments for  (a) disability living allowance,  (b) attendance allowance,  (c) industrial injuries disablement benefit and incapacity benefit and  (d) incapacity benefit have been classified as (i) Grade A, (ii) Grade B and (iii) Grade C in each year in which ATOS Origin and SEMA Group have been conducting such assessments.

Anne McGuire: Information is not available prior to September 2004 due to concerns about the reliability of the available data. No separate breakdown is available for attendance allowance and disability living allowance figures. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage of medical reports in each grade for benefits and dates shown 
			   Grade 
			  Benefit type/Period  A  B  C 
			  Incapacity benefit
			 September 2004 to August 2005 79 18 4 
			 September 2005 to May 2006 76 21 3 
			 
			  Disability living allowance and attendance allowance
			 September 2004 to August 2005 69 27 4 
			 September 2005 to May 2006 70 26 4 
			 
			  Industrial injuries disablement benefit
			 September 2004 to August 2005 86 12 2 
			 September 2005 to May 2006 84 14 2 
			  Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.  Source: Atos Origin Medical Services

Medical Assessments

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of grade C medical assessments for  (a) disability living allowance,  (b) attendance allowance,  (c) industrial injuries disablement benefit and incapacity benefit and  (d) incapacity benefit have resulted in a (i) new assessment and (ii) modification of the original assessment in each of the last five years.

Anne McGuire: If a medical report is found to be C grade at audit, Atos Origin must rework it before it is used by the decision maker to determine entitlement to benefit.
	In cases where reports which have not been subject to audit are subsequently found to be deficient, as part of a complaints investigation, for example, Atos Origin notify the decision maker so that the decision maker can review their decision.
	Records as to the outcome from these procedures are not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Medical Assessments

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost is per claimant of a medical assessment for  (a) disability living allowance,  (b) attendance allowance,  (c) industrial injuries disablement benefit and incapacity benefit and  (d) incapacity benefit.

Anne McGuire: Financial information connected with individual medical assessments is commercially sensitive and cannot be disclosed as to do so may prejudice the commercial interests of the Department and/or its suppliers.

Parliamentary Questions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will reply to question 73877, on cold-calling, tabled by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight on 25 May 2006.

James Plaskitt: I replied to the hon. Member on 19 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 1698-99W.

Pathways to Work

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of Pathways to Work provision is by the  (a) public and  (b) private sector.

Jim Murphy: The information requested is not available.
	Both voluntary and private sector organisations deliver a number of different programmes which support Pathways to Work. Some of these programmes are specific to Pathways to Work (in-work support and condition management programmes), while others are delivered nationally across Jobcentre Plus, for example WORKSTEP and new deal for disabled people.
	In the Green Paper we said the next phase of Pathways to Work roll-out will be delivered through voluntary and private sector providers contracted locally.

Staff Surveys

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library copies of the results of the latest staff surveys for  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its Executive agencies.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions routinely publishes its annual survey results within the public domain. This includes percentage responses for all survey questions for the DWP overall and for each of the main businesses, client groups and corporate services within the Department. Results for 2002, 2003 and 2004 are held by:
	The British Library
	The National Libraries for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
	Oxford Library
	Cambridge Library
	Results for the DWP Survey 2005 are currently being published in the same way. In addition, copies are being placed in the House of Commons and House of Lords Libraries as well as being placed on the Department's website. We are awaiting confirmation of publication of all departmental surveys on the Cabinet Office website before proceeding.

HEALTH

Audiology

Patrick Cormack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will reconsider the decision to exclude audiology from the 18 week waiting time for treatment.

Ivan Lewis: The 18 week 'referral to treatment' target covers hospital pathways.
	As a result of innovation, the majority of audiology and adult hearing services are accessed directly from primary care and are outside the scope of the 18 week pathway. Hearing and balance conditions that need to be referred to a medical consultant however will be subject to 18 weeks.
	There is no intention to reconsider this principle. However, reducing the time that patients wait for directly accessed services is important and an action plan is being developed to improve access to audiology services outside the 18 week pathway.

Audiology

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of hearing aid services in the Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust area; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department' policy on hearing aid services has focused on ensuring that the national health service provides modern digital hearing aids. Digital hearing aids have been available at Chorley Hospital since March 2004, with the majority of new patients being fitted within 13 weeks of referral to the audiology service.

Practice-based Commissioning

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the development of practice-based commissioning.

Patricia Hewitt: All primary care trusts (PCTs) have committed to putting in place the arrangements to support practice-based commissioning (PBC) by the end of December this year. The most recent data indicate that 27 per cent. of PCTs have already put these arrangements in place, and that 41 per cent. of practices have taken on PBC.

Sexual Health

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures her Department is implementing to increase young people's knowledge of sexually transmitted infections.

Caroline Flint: As part of the Government's drive to modernise and transform sexual health services in England we are developing a new campaign. This will focus on young men and women and we plan to launch it later this year.

Sexual Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expenditure on sexual health campaigns was in each year since 1979 in  (a) nominal and  (b) real terms.

Caroline Flint: Expenditure on sexual health campaigns including HIV public education, contraception awareness, prevention of sexually transmitted infections plus(1) helplines is shown in the table. Information is not available before 1985-86. This expenditure does not include local health promotion work undertaken at health authority/primary care trust level.
	(1) Contract for the sexual health information line, formerly the National AIDS Helpline, is delivered as part of a contract which also includes Drinkline and Frank (substance misuse prevention).
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Nominal  Real terms 
			 1985-86 0.520 1.026 
			 1986-87 7.600 14.540 
			 1987-88 11.210 20.315 
			 1988-89 10.000 16.937 
			 1989-1990 12.000 18.974 
			 1990-91 10.000 14.664 
			 1991-92 11.000 15.213 
			 1992-93 11.230 15.052 
			 1993-94 9.410 12.299 
			 1994-95 9.870 12.705 
			 1995-96 8.060 10.091 
			 1996-97(1) 5.250 6.349 
			 1997-98 4.700 5.521 
			 1998-99 4.800 5.496 
			 1999-2000 6.000 6.737 
			 2000-01 4.600 5.098 
			 2001-02 4.600 4.975 
			 2002-03 6.600 6.919 
			 2003-04 6.600 6.741 
			 2004-05 6.600 6.600 
			 2005-06 5.120 5.001 
			 (1) Before 1996-97, expenditure also includes a contribution towards the overhead costs of the former Health Education Authority.

Retinal Screening (Diabetics)

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set for retinal screening for diabetes; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The priorities and planning framework includes targets that by 2006, 80 per cent. of people with diabetes should be offered diabetic retinopathy screening rising to 100 per cent. by end of 2007.
	Data show that, in March 2006, 78.4 per cent. of people with diabetes had been offered screening for diabetic retinopathy in the previous year.

GPs (Bolton, South-East)

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs there were in Bolton, South-East constituency in 1997 and on the latest date for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not hold information on the number of general practitioners by constituency. However, in Bolton primary care trust there were 142 GPs in 2001, which increased by 20 per cent. to 171 in 2005.

Patients Groups

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the funding of patients groups.

Rosie Winterton: The term 'patient's group' can cover a variety of different organisations. These bodies can be funded in a number of ways, including public donations made to charitable organisations as well as grants given by national health service bodies or central Government.

Hospital Cleanliness (West Midlands)

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in improving hospital cleanliness in the West Midlands.

Rosie Winterton: Hospital cleanliness is measured annually as part of the patient environment action team (PEAT) assessment. The first inspections in 2000 found around one third of national health service trusts to have poor or unacceptable standards. Since then there has been a steady improvement and in 2004-05, fewer than 5 per cent. were classified as poor or unacceptable. The latest PEAT inspections have recently been completed, and the results will be published in due course. However the PEAT scores published in 2004 and 2005 show improved rates of cleanliness in the hospital sites across the strategic health authority areas in the West Midlands.

Breast Cancer Treatment

Celia Barlow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for breast cancer treatment; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Average waiting times are not collected centrally. In the last quarter 99.7 per cent. of patients were treated for breast cancer within a month of diagnosis and 99 per cent. of patients were treated within two months of urgent referral by their general practitioner.

Breast Cancer Treatment

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the most recent average waiting time was for breast cancer treatment in York; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect average waiting times for breast cancer treatment. However, the latest data available for the York hospitals NHS trust show that in Quarter 4 2005-06 the trust achieved 100 per cent. of the two week out-patient wait for urgent referrals target and 100 per cent. of the maximum one month wait from diagnosis (decision to treat) to first definitive treatment target. The trust achieved 95.8 per cent. against the 62 day target for urgent general practitioner referral for suspected cancer to treatment for breast cancer in the same period.

Community Hospitals

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the future of community hospitals in Gloucestershire.

Caroline Flint: Making decisions on local healthcare provision, including the closure of community or cottage hospitals, is a matter for primary care trusts and strategic health authorities, as they have responsibility for ensuring that services provided locally meet the needs of the populations that they serve.

Mental Health Services

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on the provision of mental health services.

Rosie Winterton: In line with the implementation of the national service framework, mental health services in England are being modernised to improve access to effective treatment and care, reduce unfair variation, raise standards, increase patient choice and provide quicker and more convenient services.

Graduate Unemployment

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made of graduate unemployment among  (a) nurses and  (b) physiotherapists.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect this information. The Higher Education Statistics Agency conducts a sample survey of graduates. Of those who responded for the year to 31 July 2004, 90 per cent. of nursing and midwifery graduates and 84 per cent. of physiotherapy graduates were employed in their chosen profession. The remainder were employed elsewhere, unemployed or did not answer the question.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much the national health service has given to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service to undertake abortions in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by region;
	(2)  how many complaints were made to  (a) her Department and  (b) the national health service about the British Pregnancy Advisory Service in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many early medical abortions were performed by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service at the request of the national health service in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) age of the woman,  (b) gestation of the pregnancy and  (c) region;
	(4)  how many women were referred by national health service GPs to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service for an abortion in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what the  (a) age of the woman,  (b) gestation of the pregnancy and  (c) region of residence was in each case.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for public health gave to the hon. Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Dodds) on 18 March 2005,  Official Report, column 522W, about the amount of national health service funding given to British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).
	The Department has received a couple of complaints during the last five years which were investigated. Information on complaints received by the NHS is not held centrally. Under the Care Standards Act 2000, BPAS is required to supply each patient with a written copy of its complaints procedure, fully investigate each complaint and maintain a detailed, written record of each complaint. BPAS is also required to send the Healthcare Commission a statement every year with a summary of the complaints received. In addition, the Healthcare Commission look at these records as part of a clinic inspection.
	The information requested on the number of NHS funded early medical abortions performed by BPAS is shown in the table. Information is not held centrally on the number of women referred to BPAS by NHS general practitioners; the abortion notification form collects the names and addresses of the two registered medical practitioners who authorised the abortion under the Abortion Act.
	
		
			  Total NHS funded medical abortions performed under nine weeks gestation by the BPAS, England, 2000-04 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			  Age  
			 Under 18 14 31 88 107 142 
			 18 11 17 61 76 129 
			 19 13 39 67 83 152 
			 20 19 23 64 85 161 
			 21 18 46 69 105 148 
			 22 14 42 88 106 145 
			 23 18 39 85 99 161 
			 24 17 25 76 103 161 
			 25 16 23 54 70 143 
			 26 13 29 55 75 124 
			 27 10 27 52 69 140 
			 28 15 32 46 60 108 
			 29 13 23 43 72 106 
			 30 11 18 67 71 99 
			 31 (1)— 27 48 47 95 
			 32 10 25 33 54 89 
			 33 11 22 29 56 80 
			 34 (1)— 16 41 43 73 
			 35 and over 35 99 186 255 427 
			 Total 269 603 1,252 1,636 2,683 
			   
			  Gestation weeks  
			 5 and under 26 43 68 134 245 
			 6 73 162 303 465 717 
			 7 93 234 529 585 1,012 
			 8 77 164 352 452 709 
			 Total 269 603 1,252 1,636 2,683 
			   
			  Region of woman's residence  
			 East (1)— 12 17 43 (1)— 
			 East Midlands (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 78 
			 London 45 128 249 362 582 
			 North West 22 26 52 74 (1)— 
			 North East (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 97 
			 South East 132 285 409 507 913 
			 South West 20 36 44 85 192 
			 West Midlands 27 97 376 348 597 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 17 14 83 173 171 
			 Total 269 603 1,252 1,636 2,683 
			 (1) Totals less than 10 (0-9 cases) are suppressed. This is in line with the Office for National Statistics' guidance on the disclosure of abortion statistics, 2005.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department  (a) has undertaken and  (b) plans to undertake into the reasons for trends in the early medical abortion rate in England and Wales between 2004 and 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Department has not undertaken research into the reasons for trends in early medical abortion and has no plans to do so.
	Medical abortion is safe, avoids the need for anaesthesia and surgery and offers women a choice of method. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' evidence-based guideline 'The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion (2004)' encourages abortion services to offer a choice of recommended methods for each gestation band.
	There has been a continuing upward trend in medical abortions since 1991 when Mifegyne was licensed for use in the United Kingdom. In 2004, 28 per cent. of the abortions performed under nine weeks gestation were medical abortions.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will make it her policy to issue a written ministerial statement to announce the publication of the abortion statistics; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what the publication date was of the abortion statistics in each of the last five years;
	(3)  if she will make it her policy to send an embargoed copy of each year's annual abortion statistics to those organisations known to her Department to  (a) support and  (b) oppose abortion; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Abortion statistics for the last five years were published on the following dates:
	2000 published by Office for National Statistics (ONS) in September 2001;
	2001 published by ONS in September 2002;
	2002 published by the Department in October 2003 and revised in July 2004;
	2003 published by the Department in August 2004 and revised in July 2005; and
	2004 published by the Department in July 2005.
	The annual abortion statistics publication is a National Statistics (NS) product, the publication is released in accordance with the NS Protocol on Release Practices. The 2005 abortion statistics bulletin for England and Wales has been pre-announced for publication in July 2006 on the Department's website.
	Sending embargoed copies of statistical publications to organisations prior to the official release date and time is contrary to best practice as set out in the NS Protocol. Best practice is to make the publication, equally available to all, at the same time and the statistics are released as soon as practicable once they and the accompanying commentary are fit for purpose. We therefore do not intend to issue embargoed copies of the annual abortion statistics publication to any organisation.
	In addition, the Head of Statistics Profession at the Department has now determined the release date and time for the "Abortion Statistics, England and Wales 2005" publication. This will be on Tuesday 4 July at 9.30 am. The publication will include detailed commentary of the results, reflecting current departmental policy and hence, we have no plans to issue a ministerial statement. On the day of publication, a statistical press release will be issued releasing the figures and providing a web link to the website.

Asthma

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people have been admitted to hospital due to asthma in each  (a) health authority and  (b) primary care trust in England for each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the total cost was to the NHS of treating people with asthma for each year since 1997;
	(3)  what measures the Department is taking to reduce emergency hospital admissions for people with asthma; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Data on the number of people admitted to hospital with the primary diagnosis of asthma, in each strategic health authority and primary care trust over the last five years have been placed in the Library.
	Information on the total cost to the national health service of treating people with asthma is not collected.
	The NHS Improvement Plan set out the Government's priority to improve care for people with long-term conditions by moving away from reactive care based in acute systems, towards a systematic, patient-centred approach.
	The national public service agreement target focuses on improving health outcomes for people with long-term conditions, including asthma, by offering a personalised care plan for vulnerable people most at risk, and reducing emergency bed days by 5 per cent., by 2008 through improved care in primary and community settings.
	To take this forward, 'Supporting People with Long-Term Conditions', published January 2005, sets out a new NHS and social care model designed to help local NHS and social care organisations improve care for people with long-term conditions. By 2007, there will be some 3,000 community matrons co-ordinating care for around 250,000 people.

Autism

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Bexleyheath and Crayford are diagnosed with autism; and how many of them are children.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the number of people including children in Bexleyheath and Crayford who are diagnosed with autism is not available centrally.

Care Homes

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what complaints procedures there are for those in a  (a) private and  (b) NHS care home.

Ivan Lewis: Under the Care Homes Regulations 2001, care homes are required to establish complaints procedures for service users or persons acting on their behalf. The regulations apply equally to homes run by all providers, including local authorities, private companies or individuals, voluntary organisations and the national health service.
	The national minimum standards (NMS) for care homes, which are available in the Library, include specific requirements for homes to have complaints procedures for service users, relatives and friends. The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) must take the NMS into account when inspecting care homes to ensure that they comply with the Care Standards Act 2000.
	Details of complaints procedures should be supplied to all service users, or those acting on their behalf if requested. Complaints procedures must be simple, clear and accessible and appropriate to service users' needs. Complaints should be responded to within a maximum of 28 days and detailed records should be kept, which should include details of investigations and any action taken.
	Service users whose care is arranged by their local authority (LA) are also entitled to pursue complaints about the way the LA has fulfilled its function regarding the provision of services to meet the needs of the individual via the LA's complaints procedure.
	All service users and their representatives have a further right to refer matters to CSCI and then to the parliamentary ombudsman for further investigation if they are not satisfied with the way their complaints are dealt with.

Care in the Community

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding will be made available to local authorities to pay for care in the community over the next three years; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not hold this information nationally or for individual local authorities. Council funding for adult social services is derived from a number of sources: a share of overall formula grant allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government, specific grants distributed by the Department, revenue from council tax, income from fees and charges and the re-prioritisation of funds on the basis of local decision making. The most recent allocation of funds for adults' social services was made in December 2005 and covers the two financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08.
	As most of the Government funding for adult social care is allocated without conditions, it is not possible to identify the proportion of that funding that may be attributable to care in the community. Local authorities have a significant degree of flexibility to manage and direct their resources in accordance with local priorities and the needs of the communities to which they are accountable.

Carers' Grant

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  in what circumstances a local authority may refuse to pay carers' grant to  (a) individuals and  (b) organisations supporting carers;
	(2)  whether local authorities are permitted to use the carers' grant to support the provision of day centres;
	(3)  whether she plans to extend carers' grant beyond 2008;
	(4)  what funding is planned to help with the provision of respite care;
	(5)  what options are available to individuals for the use they make of carers' grant; and what role local authorities play in ensuring choice is available.

Ivan Lewis: This Government introduced the carers' grant in 1999 to support councils in providing breaks and other services for carers in England. The grant is not paid to individuals but paid each year to councils as a specific formula grant.
	Councils can use the grant to provide a range of services for carers in their area depending on local demand and need. This may include commissioning day care services if this is what is needed locally. Councils will want to ensure that the services they commission provide good quality services that will meet carers' assessed needs. Councils should ensure that individuals have as much choice as possible about the services they are offered.
	Ministers have yet to decide whether the carers grant will continue after March 2008.
	Local councils can use the carers grant to provide short breaks for carers as well as a range of other services to support them. The grant in 2006-07 is £185 million. In addition, in our health and social care White Paper "Our health, our care, our say" we commit to ensure that short-term, home-based respite support is established for carers in crisis or emergency situations.

Carter Report

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to issue a detailed response to Sir David Carter's report and recommendations reviewing specialised services in the NHS; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: We support the approach in the independent report from the Review of Commissioning Arrangements for Specialised Services chaired by Sir David Carter. This comprehensive report contains a significant number of helpful proposals for improving the access to and quality of specialised services for all patients with rare conditions. We are considering the details of the report carefully and will take forward the recommendations in the Commissioning Framework, which we expect to publish in the summer.

Children's Health Services

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of whether a primary care trust is complying with its responsibilities under the "Every Child Matters" initiative where it is refusing to accept referrals for paediatric speech and language therapy.

Ivan Lewis: No assessment has been carried out centrally. Access to speech and language therapy is a matter for primary care trusts, which have responsibility for commissioning services to implement the national standards as identified in the national service framework for children, young people and maternity services and the "Every Child Matters: Change for Children" programme.

Cottage Hospitals

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact on social services care in the community programme of closing cottage hospitals; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Decisions on the role of cottage hospitals in local healthcare provision are matters for primary care trusts and strategic health authorities in consultation with local populations.
	The White Paper, "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: a new Direction for Community Services", made it clear to national health service organisations that community hospital facilities and the integrated health and social care services they provide should not be lost in response to short-term budgetary pressures that are not related to the viability of the community facility itself.

Debt Collectors

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether  (a) her Department and  (b) its (i) executive agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies use the services of private debt collectors.

Ivan Lewis: As most debtors of the Department and its executive agencies are other public bodies it is not deemed appropriate to use a debt collection agency. Information relating to non-departmental bodies is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the oral health of the population in  (a) Peterborough constituency,  (b) the East of England and  (c) England.

Andy Burnham: The information available centrally shows that in 2003-04 the average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth among five-year-olds in the area of North Peterborough primary care trust is 1.78. This compares with 0.9 in South Peterborough, 1.21 in the Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire strategic health authority area and 1.49 in England as a whole. People living in some parts of Eastern England receive the benefits to oral health from a seam of naturally occurring fluoride in water which runs from Hartlepool in Durham to Chelmsford in Essex. Peterborough however does not receive either natural or artificially fluoridated water.

Dentistry

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she plans to implement the recommendations of the Medical Devices Expert Group in respect of the provision to patients of statements of conformity for dental appliances.

Andy Burnham: The proposal to provide patients with statements of conformity for dental appliances is currently under negotiation in the Council of Ministers working group that is reviewing the Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EC. Once the revisions have been agreed and incorporated into the directive the changes will be implemented into United Kingdom law within the laid down timescale for transposition.

Dentistry

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has in place for the inspection of dental laboratories located in  (a) China,  (b) Turkey,  (c) India and  (d) South Africa which manufacture dental appliances for use in the UK.

Andy Burnham: The manufacturer of any custom-made dental appliance should ensure that it complies with the requirements of the Medical Devices Regulations before placing the device on the United Kingdom (UK) market. Where the manufacturer is based outside the European Community this would include appointing an authorised representative to register on their behalf with the member state competent authority where they have their registered place of business. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency conducts an annual programme of inspections of custom-made appliance manufacturers and authorised representatives based in the UK selected at random.

Dentistry

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inspections of dental laboratories were carried out by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and its predecessors in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: The number of inspections of dental laboratories carried out under the Medical Devices Regulations are as follows:
	
		
			   Number of inspections 
			 2001-02 88 
			 2002-03 36 
			 2003-04 121 
			 2004-05 108 
			 2005-06 107

Departmental Chief Accounting Officer

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) name,  (b) professional and academic qualifications and  (c) relevant experience are of the chief accounting officer of her Department.

Ivan Lewis: As Acting Permanent Secretary, Hugh Taylor is the Principal Accounting Officer for the Department.
	Before becoming Acting Permanent Secretary, he was the Department's strategy and business development group director. He previously held senior management jobs in the Prison Service, the Cabinet Office and was director for national health service work force in the NHS executive.
	Accounting officer is a role that the Permanent secretary combines with his personal responsibility for the overall organisation, management and staffing of the Department and for Department-wide procedures in financial and other matters. The accounting officer is assisted in the discharge of these duties by suitably qualified and experienced senior managers, such as Richard Douglas, the director-general of Finance and Investment.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) EU foreign nationals and  (b) non-EU foreign nationals have been employed in her Department in each of the last five years; what vetting procedures are in place for each category of staff; and whether these include liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not held centrally. Prior to the appointment of new employees, nationality checks are carried out to establish compliance with civil service nationality rules. Other checks, including the taking up of references, character enquiry and health checks are also conducted. These would not routinely include liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies.

Disability Access

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any buildings in her Department fall short of disability access regulations.

Ivan Lewis: Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) audits have been completed on all of the Department's buildings. All of the Department's buildings are accessible and usable and meet DDA accessibility standards.

Drug Quotas

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the effect on NHS costs of manufacturers' quotas on medicines and drugs and restrictions on the parallel importation of drugs and medicines;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with pharmaceutical manufacturers on their quotas on the supply of medicines and drugs in England;
	(3)  what assessment her Department has made of the possible impact of manufacturers' quotas for the supply of medicines and drugs in England on the pharmaceutical wholesale and retail sectors.

Andy Burnham: In terms of the impact on national health service expenditure, information is not routinely collected on the source of products, but from the data currently available, the Department estimates that parallel imports save the NHS in England approximately 60 million per year in the community sector.
	Parallel importing is legal within the European Union (EU). The United Kingdom (UK) parallel import licensing scheme allows medicinal authorised products in other EU member states to be marketed in the UK provided the imported products have no therapeutic difference from the equivalent UK products.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) liaises closely with the relevant competent authorities to obtain the necessary information to ensure that only those products which fully comply with the stringent criteria for parallel import are granted a licence. This information is published at monthly intervals on the MHRA's website.
	The Department has had no recent discussions with manufacturers nor made an assessment of the possible impact of quotas on the supply of medicines.

Drug Trials

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that in human trials of medicinal drugs not previously ingested by human beings the drugs are not to be ingested simultaneously by the volunteers.

Andy Burnham: Following the recent drug trial incident involving TGN 1412, an expert working group of leading international experts was established to address the scientific questions that were raised by it. In particular, recommendations we requested regarding this type of drug and how to manage the risks associated with making the transition from pre-clinical testing in animals to trials in humans.
	Professor Gordon Duff, who is Professor of Molecular Medicine at Sheffield University, has been appointed to act as chair of the group.
	On receipt of the report from this group, the Government will consider what steps might be required to minimise risk for first human trials in the light of their recommendations.

Food Promotion

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methods her Department will use to carry out its 2007 assessment of changes in food promotion to children as proposed in the 2004 Choosing Health White Paper.

Caroline Flint: We have said that we want to see a change in the nature and balance of food and drink advertising and promotion to children so that it better represents a healthy balanced diet.
	We will be establishing a baseline against which we can assess what progress has been made. The assessment will take into account any reduction in the volume or scheduling of advertisements across television and various non-broadcast media in recent years, and what changes have been made to the content of those advertisements.

Gershon Review

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1540W, on the Gershon Review, to the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames), if she will break down the savings by main budget heading.

Ivan Lewis: The total savings to December 2005 break down as follows:
	
		
			   Amount ( million) 
			 Productive time 879 
			 Procurement 1,048 
			 Corporate services 36 
			 Social care 179 
			 Policy funding and regulation 63 
			 Total 2,205 
		
	
	These figures were set out in the Department's report published in May 2006.

Head Injuries

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how payment by results will affect the commissioning and delivery of services for those with a serious head injury;
	(2)  what steps have been taken to implement the recommendations in the Health Committee's Report of Session 2000-01, on Head Injuries: Rehabilitation, in relation to  (a) improving data collection on the incidence, prevalence and severity of head injuries,  (b) facilitating the planning of services for those with a head injury,  (c) making explicit the level at which planning for serious head injury rehabilitation should be located and  (d) commissioning and delivery of specialist services.

Ivan Lewis: In our response to the Committee (CM 5226, July 2001) the Government undertook to take their recommendations into account in drawing-up the national service framework for long-term neurological conditions (NSF), and subsequently did so. The NSF was published last year and we are now working with stakeholders to implement it.
	It is the responsibility of local professionals to commission services to meet the current and forecast needs of the people they serve.
	Under payment by results, money follows patients and so providers are rewarded for the number and complexity of cases they treat, and incentivised to provide high quality care.

Health Professional Council/General Osteopathic Council (Funding)

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been allocated to the  (a) Health Professional Council and  (b) General Osteopathic Council in each of the last nine years.

Andy Burnham: The Department granted the following amounts to the following organisations over the past four years. Information for the previous five years can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The information available is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   
			   Regulatory body 
			   General Osteopathic Council  Health Professions Council 
			 2005-06 0 0 
			 2004-05 0 0 
			 2003-04 0 1,330,000.00 
			 2002-03 0 2,474,467.38

Health Treatment Centres

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been treated at each independent sector treatment centre since each was established, broken down by type of treatment received.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the number of elective procedures performed by centrally procured independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) in wave one is shown in the tables. Data are not held centrally by speciality except for the Greater Manchester Surgical Centre which has a different contractual arrangement. The table also indicates where all an ISTCs procedures fall within one specialty.
	
		
			  Treatment centres  Number of elective procedures( 1) 
			  GC4 spine chain  
			 East Cornwall, Bodmin NHS Treatment Centre 584 
			 East Lincolnshire, Boston NHS Treatment Centre 975 
			 West Lincolnshire, Gainsborough NHS Treatment Centre 707 
			 North and East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, 725 
			   
			  Clifton NHS Treatment Centre  
			 Northumberland Tyne and Wear, Cobalt NHS Treatment Centre 1,204 
			 Southampton, Capio New Hall Hospital NHS Treatment Centre 1,237 
			 Thames Valley, Capio Reading NHS Treatment Centre, Woodland Hospital NHS Treatment Centre 1,120 
			   
			  GC5 west chain  
			 Kidderminster, Kidderminster Treatment Centre 1,690 
			   
			  GC8 chain  
			 Portsmouth, St. Mary's NHS Treatment Centre 419 
			 Medway, Will Adams NHS Treatment Centre 435 
			   
			  Local projects  
			 Bradford, Eccleshill NHS Treatment Centre 2,941 
			 Trent, Barlborough NHS Treatment Centre(2) 3,678 
			 Daventry, The Birkdale Clinic 5,157 
			 Shepton Mallet, Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre 5,324 
			 Greater Manchester , Greater Manchester Surgical Centre 4,704 
			 Plymouth, Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre(2) 2,743 
			   
			  OC123 ophthalmology chain  
			 Mobile Cataract Unit(2) 20,956 
		
	
	
		
			  Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Surgical Centre  Number of elective procedures( 1) 
			 Orthopaedics 2,128 
			 General Surgery 1,010 
			 Dermatology 662 
			 ENT 605 
			 Urology/Gynae 274 
			 Plastic Surgery 25 
			 Total 4,704 
			 (1) Number of elective procedures at March 2006. (2) Single specialty. The Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre and the Barlborough NHS Treatment Centre only perform orthopaedic procedures. The Mobile Cataract Unit only performs ophthalmology procedures.

Health Treatment Centres

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with which independent treatment centres the NHS holds contracts; what type of treatment was contracted for in each case in the most recent year for which figures are available; how many episodes of treatment were contracted for in each case in that year; which NHS body holds the contract; which primary care trusts are covered by the contract; whether a (i) Wave 1, (ii) Wave 2 and (iii) other type of contract applies; and what the (A) name and (B) legal status is of the proprietor of each centre.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not held centrally on spot purchased activity from the independent sector by local commissioners. Details of the first wave of independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) contracts have been placed in the Library. All wave one ISTC contracts have been entered into with companies registered in England and Wales.
	No contracts have been finalised for phase two of the procurement for additional elective and diagnostic activity or the extended choice network of independent providers.

Hospital Closures

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) hospitals and  (b) other NHS units in England and Wales are being proposed for closure during the current financial year; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The information requested for England is not available centrally. For Wales, it is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Information Technology

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) originally estimated,  (b) most recently estimated and  (c) outturn cost was in each of the five largest information technology contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The information provided pertains to the central Department and does not cover executive agencies, other arm's length bodies or NHS Connecting for Health.
	The five largest information technology (IT) contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years are:
	 The information management services agreement-Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
	The annual support charge for the CSC agreement has fluctuated from the initial estimated charge but this has been a reflection of the introduction of new services, for example, new remote working facilities, wireless connectivity services and new collaborative tools. Ongoing charges over five years are as follows:
	
		
			million 
			 2002-03 7.65 
			 2003-04 8.85 
			 2004-05 8.77 
			 2005-06 7.47 
			 2006-07 (1)7.60 
			 (1) Forecast charges. 
		
	
	Transformation of the infrastructure formed a separate part of the agreement. The original estimate was 9.1 million. The estimate was revised to 12.6 million to include the cost of commissioning and implementing the new services. The outturn cost was 12.6 million.
	A total of 88.42 million has been spent with CSC over the five years since the contract was let. The support charges and transformation form part of that figure. The remainder has included expenditure which CSC administer on behalf of the Department, for example BT costs for the wide area network and business ports, and audio conferencing and mobile telephone costs. The remainder of the costs over the five years have been apportioned to project work in support of the integrity and resilience of the infrastructure in line with changing technologies. These project and pass-through costs are listed as follows.
	
		
			million 
			 2002-03 12.88 
			 2003-04 18.32 
			 2004-05 20.06 
			 2005-06 21.82 
			 2006-07 (1)21 
			 (1) Forecast charges. 2.72 million invoiced so far. 
		
	
	 Finance system agreement-Cap Gemini
	The original estimate for the project was 6.1 million. The revised estimate and actual cost was 5.6 million.
	 Corporate software agreement-IBM
	The agreement was for a three year deal with three annual payments totalling 1.4 million. The original estimate and actual costs were the same.
	 Web content management service-Xansa
	This contract was awarded early in 2006 and the estimated costs over the next five years are 5.11 million. The outturn is expected to remain the same as the estimated costs.
	 External applications hosting-BT
	This annually renewable contract was for a hosting provision designed to be scaleable to meet the requirements of the Department. The charges represent the fluctuation in these requirements. The annual charges were:
	
		
			million 
			 2002-03 0.306 
			 2003-04 0.5 
			 2004-05 0.374 
			 2005-06 0.3 
			 2006-07 0.3

London Hospitals

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she last reviewed the strategic provision of hospital provision in London and the surrounding areas; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 19 June 2006
	Strategic leadership and commissioning is a central role of new strategic health authorities and primary care trusts working with their partners. Strategic provision of hospital services has been a key part of the strategic authority responsibilities since shifting the balance of power was introduced in 2002.

Maternity Units

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether payment by results applies to midwife-led maternity units.

Ivan Lewis: The tariff applies to midwife-led maternity units, to the extent that they are providing services within scope of payment by results. For example, deliveries in hospitals and maternity units are within scope of payment by results and the tariff would therefore apply for deliveries in a midwife-led unit. Home deliveries are excluded from the scope of payment by results and tariff would therefore not need to apply for a home birth managed by a midwife-led maternity unit.

Measles

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of measles there were in England in each year since 1997; and what the percentage uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was in each year since 1988 in  (a) England and  (b) each region.

Caroline Flint: Laboratory confirmed cases of measles in England and Wales between 1996 and 2005 are available on the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/measles/data_mmr_ confirmed.htm
	On the 15 June 2006, the HPA reported that they had received reports of 449 confirmed cases of measles in England and Wales in the period January to May 2006. Further information is available at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/news/articles/press_releases/2006/060615_ measles.htm
	Annual England data for years 1997 to 2005 are available from NHS Immunisation Statistics on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/Statistical WorkArea

Mental Health/Learning Disabilities

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to promote the protection of people with (i) mental health problems and (ii) learning disabilities (A) at work and (B) in residential care settings.

Ivan Lewis: Less than one in four people experiencing long-term mental health problems is in employment, and one third of those in employment report having been dismissed or forced to resign. There is evidence that better access to psychological treatment can help people to return to or maintain employment.
	The Government are committed to improving access to evidence-based psychological therapies, and this policy was set out in the Labour manifesto 2005 and the Our Health, our care, our say White Paper. Our Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme forms a key part of the Government's Health, Work and Well-BeingCaring for Our Future (HWWB) strategy, which the Department launched last October with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Health and Safety Commission.
	The Department is not responsible for the protection of people with learning disabilities at work. However, people with mental health problems and learning disabilities are protected by all employment legislation, for example that governing freedom from discrimination and equal opportunities. In addition, The Duty to Promote Disability Equality statutory code of practice in England and Wales, published by the Disability Rights Commission in December 2005, includes mental illness and learning disabilities.
	There are a wide range of measures to protect vulnerable people in regulated social care, including those with mental health problems and learning disabilities. We have set out standards for care and treatment for the national health service and social care services in the national service framework for mental health and the White Paper, Valuing People: a new strategy for learning disability.
	We have introduced national minimum standards for care homes, domiciliary care and adult placements to ensure that vulnerable people can live in a safe environment, where their rights and dignity are respected and staff are properly trained. The regulator, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, has powers to take swift and decisive action where abuse occurs, by serving enforcement notices on care homes and domiciliary care providers and, ultimately, it can close services down.
	No Secrets, statutory guidance issued under section 7 of the 1970 Local Authorities Social Services Act by the Department in 2000, provides a complete definition of abuse and a framework for councils to work with the police, the NHS and regulators to tackle abuse and prevent it from occurring.
	We introduced the protection of vulnerable adults (PoVA) scheme in July 2004. PoVA prevents dangerous or unscrupulous people from gaining access to vulnerable people in care homes or being cared for in their own homes. The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill was introduced in Parliament on 28 February 2006. The new scheme will build on the existing PoVA scheme and will make it far more difficult for abusers to gain access to some of the most vulnerable groups in society. Subject to the necessary legislation being passed by Parliament, it will begin staged implementation in 2007.

Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in her private office have stayed overnight in (i) five star, (ii) four star and (iii) three star hotels in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Departmental officials and special advisers are expected to make efficient and cost-effective arrangements.

National Blood Service

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ask the National Blood Service to issue guidance to its staff aimed at ensuring that men who have sex with men are treated with respect when they are told they are unable to give blood.

Caroline Flint: All staff working with blood donors are required to treat blood donors with respect. People who are asked not to donate blood are entitled to a clear explanation as to why they have been deferred or excluded from donating blood, this will include men who have sex with men.

Productive Time Savings

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on productive time savings, as envisaged by the Gershon Review, achieved since 2003-04; and what proportion of these savings are directly attributable to products delivered through the National Programme for Information Technology.

Ivan Lewis: The latest reported savings figure for productive time is 879 million at December 2005.
	The Gershon report Releasing Resources to the Front Line identified three main contributors to front line service (productive time) efficiencyinformation communication technologies (ICT), process redesign and work force reform.
	Our delivery strategy for this programme recognises that efficiencies are achieved by technology, process and work force changes being delivered together. The national health service uses an integrated service improvement programme (ISIP) to plan and manage service improvement. This programme is a key element of implementing the national programme for information technology (NPfIT). More information is available at www.isip.nhs.uk.
	To avoid double counting, the approach to measuring most productive time benefits is based on outcome changes, for example day case rates, inpatient length of stay and emergency admission, rather than the separate contribution of ICT or work force or process change.
	It is not therefore possible to determine the proportion of current or future gains attributable specifically to the NPfIT but clearly its contribution is likely to increase.
	Details of our approach to productive time measurement and the specific measures used are explained in the Department's efficiency technical note, which is available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/41/37/04124137.pdf.

NHS Finance

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average per capita NHS funding for 2006-07 is in rural areas.

Andy Burnham: The average allocation per person made to the 82 primary care trusts in predominantly rural areas in 2006-07 is 1,168.

NHS Treatment

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) elective hospital admissions,  (b) first out-patient attendances following general practitioner referral and  (c) consultant-led first out-patient attendances there were in the NHS in each year between 1990-91 and 2005-06.

Andy Burnham: Data from 1996-97 onwards are shown in the table. Data for the earlier years are not available on the same basis.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   Elective hospital admissions( 1)  First out-patient (OP) attendances following general practitioner referral( 2)  Consultant-led first OP attendances( 3) 
			 1996-97 4,364 7,565 11,294 
			 1997-98 4,450 7,609 11,529 
			 1998-99 4,869 7,533 11,778 
			 1999-2000 4,934 7,710 12,136 
			 2000-01 5,045 7,938 12,466 
			 2001-02 5,080 8,016 12,613 
			 2002-03 5,308 8,073 12,879 
			 2003-04 5,492 8,086 13,431 
			 2004-05 5,607 7,980 13,370 
			 2005-06 5,691 8,118 13,727 
			  Sources: (1) Heath Authority Monitoring and Monthly Monitoring, commissioner-based. (2) QM08, provider-based. (3) KH09, QMOP and QM08, provider-based.

Non-life Threatening Conditions

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether she has received evidence that NHS organisations are reducing services for non-life threatening conditions;
	(2)  which conditions the NHS classes as non-life threatening.

Andy Burnham: There is no data available on the planned level of non-life threatening services but the national health service produces local delivery plans which set out the planned level of out-patient attendances and elective admissions to hospital. The 2006-07 plans are still being agreed with strategic health authorities but they currently show that, across England, the NHS is planning for a 1.4 per cent. increase in first out-patient attendances following a referral from a general practitioner and a 2.4 per cent. increase in elective admissions to hospital.

Parliamentary Ombudsman

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those occasions when the recommendations of a report from the parliamentary ombudsman have been  (a) rejected and  (b) partly rejected by her Department since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: There has been one occasion since 1997 when the Department has partly rejected the recommendations of the parliamentary ombudsman. This concerned information withheld pending publication of a National Audit Office (NAO) report. Following publication of the NAO report, the Department acceded to all the Ombudsman's recommendations except on one point.

Primary Care Trusts

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial assistance will be made available to support primary care trusts seeking to re-engineer services in accordance with the priorities set out in the White Paper Our health, our care, our say.

Ivan Lewis: Revenue allocations covering 2006-07 and 2007-08 were announced to primary care trusts (PCTs) on 5 February 2005. Over the two years covered by this allocation PCTs will receive an average increase of 19.5 per cent. They are therefore able to plan to take account of the principles set out in the Our health, our care, our say White Paper and the wider programme of health reform, knowing how what resources they have available. In delivering wider reform, PCTs have the support of modernisation teams in strategic health authorities. These teams have an important role in ensuring the delivery of improvements in local health and social care services that maximise all opportunities and available resources.

Primary Care Trusts

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been generated by the top-slicing of 3 per cent. of London's primary care trust budgets; where this top-sliced income is being held; what decisions have been taken on the use of the fund; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: A reduction to London primary care trusts (PCT) 2006-07 revenue allocations of 3 per cent. would amount to around 320 million. Reserves generated to manage the overall financial position are currently being held by strategic health authorities (SHAs). The final amounts and terms for the use of the reserves will be for local agreement between the SHA and PCTs, within a framework agreed with the Department.

Radon Gas

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measurement of radon gas has been recorded in each county in each of the last five years; and how this information is made available to the public.

Caroline Flint: The radiation division of the Health Protection Agency (HPA) manages the radon measurement programme in England and Wales. Buildings are monitored using two detectors supplied by HPA to measure levels of radon over a three-month period.
	The HPA uses various campaign methods to encourage householders to have their dwellings measured but a number of householders choose to ignore this support. In the future, house holder-sales packs will include a section about radon levels in the house which will significantly help to raise awareness of radon gas.
	The readings are fed into a national database to produce the radon atlas of England and Wales, publication NRPB-W26 from the HPA and available as a free download on www.hpa.org.uk/radiation, provides detailed data by administrative and postcode divisions as well as the definitive radon probability maps. This publication is due to be updated within the next 12 months.

Radon Gas

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to protect citizens from the effects of radon gas.

Caroline Flint: The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) first offered advice to the Government on the exposure to radon in dwellings in early 1987. (In 2005 the NRPB merged with the Health Protection Agency, becoming its radiation protection division.)
	This advice was updated and expanded in 1990 in a statement and supporting document on the limitation of human exposure to radon in homes (reference NRPB. Human exposure to radon in homes. Doc. NRPB. 1, No. 1, 17-32 (1990)). Central to the control strategy is a recommendation that radon concentrations at or above an action level should be reduced to as low as reasonably practicable. In areas with a high risk of elevated radon concentrations, the radon concentration in existing homes should be measured and reduced as appropriate and new homes built with protective measures against radon.
	Legislation under the Health and Safety at Work Act, Etc. 1974 means that in places of work the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 come into effect if radon is present above a defined level and then employers are required to take action to restrict resulting exposures.

Radon Gas

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Government have determined a maximum safe level of radon gas.

Caroline Flint: Radiation protection principles are based on the level of risk and this approach is applied when dealing with radon gas levels in buildings. The risks from the presence of radon gas have to be balanced against other factors. From a public health perspective, priority has to be given to areas and houses that are more likely to suffer from the problem and this is tackled in many ways.
	The Government accepted advice in a statement from the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), published in 1990, on the limitation of human exposure to radon in homes and implemented the recommendations contained in the supporting document (reference NRPB. Human exposure to radon in homes. Doc. NRPB. 1, No. 1, 17-32 (1990)). (In 2005, the NRPB merged with the Health Protection Agency (HPA), becoming its Radiation Protection Division.)
	The results of 13 European studies of indoor radon and lung cancer, taken together, provide overwhelming evidence that radon can cause lung cancer. There is no evidence of a threshold below which radon exposure is safe, and there is substantial evidence of a risk for individuals who live in homes with moderate radon concentrations as well as those with homes above 200 bequerels per metre cubed, the current United Kingdom (UK) action level. Homeowners are currently advised to apply radon reduction measures if tests show levels above the action level.
	Significant efforts are being made by World Health Organisation, developed countries, UK Government and the HPA to determine how to raise awareness of the issue and to how to better tackle the whole problem.

Royal Assent

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those  (a) Acts and  (b) parts of Acts which received Royal Assent between 1976 and 2006 and for which her Department has policy responsibility which remain in force.

Ivan Lewis: Acts for which the Department retains full or part policy responsibility have been passed since 1976 and were in force as of 31 December 2005 are as follows:
	NHS Act 1977;
	Public Health Laboratory Service 1979;
	Health Services Act 1980;
	Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1982;
	Mental Health Act 1983;
	Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983;
	Medical Act 1983;
	Anatomy Act 1984;
	Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984;
	Dentists Act 1984;
	Health and Social Security Act 1984;
	Hospital Complaints Procedure Act 1985;
	Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985;
	Corneal Tissue Act 1986;
	Protection of Children (Tobacco) Act 1986;
	National Health Service (Amendment) Act 1986;
	AIDS (Control) Act 1987;
	Parliamentary and Health Services Commissioners Act 1987;
	Community Health Council (Access to Information) Act 1988;
	Access to Medical Reports Act 1988;
	Health and Medicines Act 1988;
	Hearing Aid Council (Amendment) Act 1989;
	Human Organs Transplants Act 1989;
	Opticians Act 1989;
	Food Safety Act 1990;
	Greenwich Hospital Act 1990;
	National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990;
	Access to Health Records Act 1990;
	Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990;
	Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991;
	Medical Qualifications (Amendment) Act 1991;
	Medicinal Products: Prescription by Nurses etc Act 1992;
	Community Care (Residential Accommodation) Act 1992;
	Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Disclosure of Information) Act 1992;
	Health Service Commissioners Act 1993;
	Osteopaths Act 1993;
	Chiropractors Act 1994;
	Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1994;
	Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995;
	Health Authorities Act 1995;
	National Health Service (Amendment) Act 1995;
	Medical (Professional Performance) Act 1995;
	Mental Health (Patients in the Community) 1995;
	Health Service Commissioners (Amendment) Act 1996;
	National Health Services (Residual Liabilities) Act 1996;
	National Health Service (Primary Care ) Act 1997;
	National Health Service (Private Finance) Act 1997;
	Community Care (Residential Accommodation) Act 1998;
	Food Standards Act 1999;
	Health Act 1999;
	The Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999;
	Care Standards Act 2000;
	Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000;
	Health Service Commissioners (Amendment) Act 2000;
	Health and Social Care Act 2001;
	Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001;
	National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002;
	Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002;
	Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Act 2003;
	Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Deceased Fathers) Act 2003;
	Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003;
	Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004;
	Health Protection Agency Act 2004; and
	Human Tissue Act 2004;

RU-486

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with the US Administration about H.R. 1079 (Holly's Law) and the experience of the US Administration in dealing with deaths caused by the abortion drug RU-486 in the United States; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to replies given on 3 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1701-02W.
	Recent assessments by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), in consultation with independent experts, have concluded that the balance of risks and benefits of mifepristone (Mifegyne, RU-486) remains positive, for use in its licensed indications in medical abortion, and that no changes to prescribing advice are needed. The MHRA is aware of deaths that have been reported in association with the use of mifepristone both in the United States (US) and in the United Kingdom. However, as there is no clear evidence that mifepristone has caused these deaths there is no basis for regulatory action or further discussions with the US authorities.

Service Reorganisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether primary care and NHS trusts in Gloucestershire are required to consult  (a) the public and  (b) voluntary organisations on possible changes in passenger transport services arising from reconfiguration of hospital and other services.

Caroline Flint: The requirement on trusts and primary care trusts is to consult on proposals to change health services not passenger transport services. Such issues, however, would be dealt with in the context of the health service consultation, and not treated separately.
	However, the consultation which was launched on 12 June 2006 by Avon, Gloucester and Wiltshire strategic health authority, 'The Future of Healthcare in Gloucestershire Proposals for Developing Sustainable NHS Services', includes proposed changes to passenger transport services.

Sexually Abused Children

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services are provided by the NHS for children in Milton Keynes who have been sexually abused.

Andy Burnham: Specialist services including treatment for sexually transmitted infections, termination of pregnancy and mental health services are available for those children who need them as a result of sexual abuse, wherever they are in England. For children with less severe mental health problems, it is more appropriate for universal services to provide the psychological support they need than for them to be referred to specialist child and adolescent mental health services.
	The Department and the Mental Health Foundation jointly funded a multi-centre study to evaluate the use of psychotherapy with girls aged 6 to 14 years who had been sexually abused. Two of the main findings were that high rates of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder were found and both group and individual psychotherapy were effective and improvement in the patients condition tended to continue after treatment had ended.
	It is important that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are developed in a way that is responsive to the needs of the populations they serve. The CAMHS standard of the children's National Service Framework (NSF) sets out the requirement for an assessment of the needs of particular groups of children in the locality who are vulnerable or at risk. The NSF also states that commissioners and services should be able to demonstrate multi-agency partnership working in the following areas: the provision of services to children and young people who may or may not have been harmed, as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children; contributing to the assessment of complex child abuse cases; the assessment and provision of post-abuse therapeutic services; and services for looked after and adopted children.

Skipton Fund

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether  (a) a panel has been appointed to hear appeals to the Skipton Fund and  (b) a timetable has been set for the commencement of appeals to the Skipton Fund; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The NHS Appointment Commission is undertaking the recruitment of the chair and members of the Skipton Fund appeal panel and interviews have been arranged for late June 2006. Once the necessary appointments have been made, the Skipton Fund, who provide the secretariat for the appeals panel, will organise all necessary meetings of the panel and prepare cases to be considered by the panel at the earliest convenience.

Specialist Nurses

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals in South East London provide  (a) Parkinson's disease nurse specialists and  (b) paediatric diabetes specialist nurses.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not held centrally.

Staff Absenteeism

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many working days were lost to her Department and its executive agencies in each year since 1997 due to staff absenteeism, expressed as the average annual number of absent days per employee; and what the estimated total cost to the Department and its agencies of absenteeism was in each year.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Staff years  Average working days lost per employee  Estimated average daily cost of absence ()  Total cost () 
			 2004 6,881 3.8 84 2,195,369 
			 2003 7,196 5.4 79 3,069,813 
			 2002 7,448 4.7 75 2,625,420 
			 2001 5,607 6.8 73 2,783,314 
			 2000 5,279 5.8 70 2,143,274 
			 1999 4,880 6.8 69 2,289,696 
			 1998 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1997 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	Information on sickness absence in the civil service is published annually, and the reports for the years 1999 to 2004 can be found on the civil service website at:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/occupationalhealth/publications/index.asp
	The average daily cost of absence is based on average basic salaries presented in each year's report.

Staff Surveys

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff surveys have been conducted in her Department in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has conducted three staff opinion surveys, one each year, over the past three years.

Summary/Detailed Care Records

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information will be held on an individual's  (a) summary care record and  (b) detailed care record.

Caroline Flint: In the future, each person using the national health service will have a personal electronic NHS care record which can be quickly accessed by health care professionals legitimately involved in the person's care. It will be made up of detailed care records and a summary care record.
	Detailed care records will be built up over time into a detailed health and care history.
	Patients will also have a summary care record. Initially this is likely to be limited to more basic information such as allergies, adverse reactions to medications, and current prescriptions but over time more information will be added about current health conditions and treatment. Departmental officials are in discussion with representatives of the medical professions of patients and the public about the scope and implementation of the summary care record. This work will be accelerated by the new taskforce.
	Strict controls will be in place for both the detailed and summary care records so that only those people involved in the care of the patient will have access to patient information appropriate to their role.
	People's consent to share and ability to limit the sharing of their care record is covered by the NHS care record guarantee.

Vulnerable Adults

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on plans to place on a statutory footing the 'No Secrets' guidelines for developing a multi-agency framework for prevention and investigation of abuse of vulnerable adults.

Ivan Lewis: The Government regard abuse of vulnerable and older people as unacceptable in all its forms and is determined to root it out.
	'No Secrets', published by the Department in 2000, provides a complete definition of abuse and a framework for councils to work with the police, the national health service and regulators to tackle abuse and prevent it from occurring. 'No Secrets' is statutory guidance, issued under section 7 of the 1970 Local Authorities Social Services Act; local authorities must have regard to it.
	I am informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection that 145 out of 150 localities have established adult protection committees, as recommended in the guidance, which demonstrates that councils are taking their responsibilities to tackle and prevent abuse seriously.

Waiting Times

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) mean and  (b) median wait was for a (i) out-patient and (ii) in-patient appointment in (A) 1979, (B) 1997 and (C) the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The mean and median waits for in-patient admission and first out-patient appointment in 1997 and 2006 are shown the following table. It is not possible to calculate mean or medians for 1979 as data were not collected in sufficient detail at that time.
	
		
			  Average waiting time for elective in-patient admission 
			  Weeks 
			  Period ending  Median wait  Mean wait 
			 March 1979 n/a n/a 
			 March 1997 13.2 18.1 
			 March 2006 7.3 8.7 
			 April 2006 7.6 8.9 
			  Source:  Department of Health QF01 
		
	
	
		
			  Average waiting time for a first out-patient appointment from a general practitioner referral to a consultant 
			  Weeks 
			  Quarter ended  Median wait  Mean wait 
			 March 1979 n/a n/a 
			 June 1997 6.3 9.0 
			 March 2006 6.1 6.5 
			  Note:  In-patient figures are available monthly, hence figures quoted for April 200 6 Source: Department of Health QM08R

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Avian Influenza

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what aid the Government have given to the Romanian authorities to tackle the incidence of H5N1 avian influenza there.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK is playing a lead role in international initiatives to coordinate action on avian influenza. We provide advice and support through the Veterinary Laboratories Agency which, as the World Reference Laboratory, is a constant source of advice, expertise and training for specialists around the world. We have provided technical veterinary expertise to Romania and will consider requests for additional support, working with the European Commission, to help their efforts to tackle the disease.
	We consider that the most effective use of resources is to channel them through multilateral organisations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation, who already have in place infrastructures and programmes which can be employed to address avian influenza.

Avian Influenza

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely impact on pigeon racing of restrictions which may be introduced to tackle avian influenza; and whether the Department plans to issue guidelines on this matter.

Ben Bradshaw: Following a veterinary risk assessment, pigeon racing is currently allowed within the British Isles (that is, including the Republic of Ireland) subject to certain conditions. These include a requirement for race organisers to advise their local Animal Health Office that the event is taking place and to adhere to strict biosecurity practice.
	Following a further recent risk assessment, pigeon races from Belgium and Northern France were permitted since 15 June 2006. These gatherings are subject to the same notification and biosecurity conditions for races within the British Isles as well as additional requirements to isolate pigeons following a race and can only take place until 31 July 2006 when we will review the position again. If the disease situation changes we will immediately review the position and may re-impose a ban on all pigeon races.
	The Defra website contains full details of the restrictions and guidance on how to comply with them: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/ai/qanda/gatherings.htm.

Commercial Recycling

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether he plans to extend his Department's grants to cover commercial recycling;
	(2)  what mechanisms he plans to help small and medium-sized businesses recycle their waste products.

Ben Bradshaw: The recent consultation on the review of England's Waste Strategy puts forward proposals for a greater emphasis on the recycling of commercial and industrial waste. This includes a wider role for local authorities in fostering better recycling services for small businesses, better integration of municipal and business waste management, and the further development of markets for recycled materials. The consultation also asked for views on how best the Government can support small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in overcoming the barriers they face in recycling their waste.
	Responses to the consultation, which closed on 9 May 2006, are being carefully considered during the development of a revised waste strategydue to be published later this year.
	In addition, the recently created Waste Infrastructure Development Programme is considering how to encourage local authorities to allow for appropriate, larger facilities that can serve the non-municipal sector.
	The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme also plays a key role in reducing the amount of commercial waste sent to landfillreturning 284 million to businesses over three years through resource efficiency and waste minimisation programmes.
	The Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) has set up a pilot project providing sector-specific help for small businesses, and the Environment Agency (EA) is developing a pilot internet service called 'What do I do with my waste?'. This will work as an extension to the EA's existing guidance service for SMEs, 'NetRegs', which includes guidance on waste issues.

Egg Industry

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department will provide guidance on new welfare guidelines as they will apply to permitted flooring systems for the egg industry.

Ben Bradshaw: Updated legislation covering the welfare of laying hens in all systems was introduced in 2002. A Code of Recommendations for the welfare of laying hens is available from the Defra website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/layers/layerscode.pdf
	If a producer requires further guidance on the suitability of individual flooring systems, they should contact the relevant local enforcement body.

Endangered Species

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many offences have been committed under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regulations since the increase in penalties in 2005; what the nature was of these offences; and what penalties were imposed in each case.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	Data on convictions under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species regulations since the increase of penalties in 2005 are unavailable as the most recent data available are for 2004. Data for 2005 will be available in the autumn.

GM Organisms

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the UK Government's policy is on non-food GM crops; and what assessment has been made of the impact of such crops in different parts of the world.

Ian Pearson: No genetically modified (GM) crops, including non-food GM crops, will be approved unless they pass a detailed case-by-case assessment of possible risks to human health and the environment. Under European Union (EU) legislation each proposed commercial GM product is subject to a detailed risk assessment which involves careful scrutiny by independent scientists. An evaluation is made of all the risk factors that may arise, including possible toxic or allergenic effects and the likely consequences of any gene transfer. Any GM crop intended for importing into this country from outside the EU would need to have the requisite EU consent.

GM Organisms

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the UK Government's policy is on Poland's decision to ban the cultivation and sale of genetically modified organisms.

Ian Pearson: This is a matter for the Polish Government and the European Commission. The Government's policy is that we expect member states to abide by existing EU law.

Hosepipe Ban

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the financial impact on the landscape and gardening industry of the imposition of a hosepipe ban in some parts of the South East of England.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 19 June 2006
	Water companies are responsible for considering whether to introduce hosepipe bans using the powers available to them under the Water Industry Act 1991. Prior approval from Government is not required.
	No assessment of the financial impact of hosepipe bans on the landscape and gardening industry has been conducted by the Government. However, in light of lessons learned from the current drought period, my Department will review the scope of the current legislative framework relating to hosepipe bans.

Landfill

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of landfilled waste in Herefordshire comes from commercial sources.

Ben Bradshaw: Based on returns supplied to the Environment Agency by the facility operators, 5,406 tonnes (48.6 per cent.) out of a total of 11,122 tonnes of waste landfilled at three licensed facilities in Herefordshire in 2002-03 were of commercial origin. This is the last year for which fully quality assured data are available.
	This is a relatively small amount compared both to the total waste land-filled in the West Midlands (6,623,554 tonnes) and to the total waste dealt with (through treatment, transfer and disposal) in Herefordshire (167,846 tonnes). The tonnage deposited in landfills is likely to decrease further over subsequent years as landfill sites come under stricter regulation.

Marmoset Monkeys

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what restrictions apply to the taking of marmoset monkeys into public places; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Marmoset monkeys are not listed under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act and there are no restrictions specific to taking them into public places. However, any keeper would need to ensure that in taking such an animal into a public place they are not causing any unnecessary suffering contrary to section 1 of the Protection of Animals Act 1911.
	Under the Animal Welfare Bill all keepers and owners will need to ensure that an animal's welfare needs are also provided for.
	The Department is also looking at the provision of codes of practice on the care of primates.

Meat Hygiene Controls

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the proposals in the Food Standards Agency's consultation on charging arrangements for meat hygiene controls on  (a) the charges to and  (b) the viability of small abattoirs.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 12 June 2006
	The Food Standards Agency's proposals for changes to the charging arrangements for meat hygiene controls are still being developed. I understand that they are currently seeking the initial views of stakeholders, prior to full consultation later this year. Officials from this Department will be liaising closely with those of the Agency to assess their potential impact on charges generally and particularly on the viability of smaller abattoirs.

Packaging

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the Government plan  (a) to reduce the amount of packaging used by big businesses and  (b) to encourage consumers to choose products with less packaging.

Ben Bradshaw: Last year the Government launched the Courtauld Commitment, a voluntary agreement between 13 major retailers and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to reduce packaging waste. There are three broad objectives to meet, which are:
	i. to design out packaging waste growth by 2008;
	ii. to deliver absolute reductions in packaging waste by March 2010; and
	iii. to identify ways to tackle the problem of food waste.
	There are also two sets of regulations which cover packaging in the UK both of which encourage producers (including retailers) to minimise packaging. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended) are intended to increase the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. The amount of packaging waste producers have to recover and recycle is determined, in part, by the amount of packaging they handle. Therefore, businesses can save money if they reduce the amount of packaging they handle. The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 (as amended) place a number of requirements on all packaging placed on the market in the UK, including a requirement that packaging should be manufactured so that the volume and weight are limited to the minimum adequate amount to maintain the necessary level of safety, hygiene and acceptance for the packed product and for the consumer.
	Both regulations have led to decreases in packaging used around products. However, more still needs to be done to reduce the amount of packaging that is produced. We have asked the Advisory Committee on Packaging to work with industry to find solutions to this problem and to let me have recommendations for ways of encouraging businesses to further reduce the amount of packaging they use.
	Although legislation is one way of reducing packaging, consumers also have a part to play. If consumers make a point of choosing goods that are not heavily packaged, buy loose food rather than pre-packaged food and use their reusable shopping bags, manufacturers would be more inclined to think about the type and the quantity of packaging around their products.

Private Sewers

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with interested parties on his recent consultation on the adoption of private sewers; and what option he plans to recommend following that consultation.

Ian Pearson: DEFRA has worked hard with stakeholders including Ofwat, Water UK and the Consumer Council for Water to examine the scope and form any potential transfer to water and sewerage companies might take; its costs and funding, the impact on the drain repair and insurance industries, and public expectation. We intend to publish a decision on how to address the problems associated with existing private sewers in England and Wales in the autumn.

Recycling

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effects of a deposit system for returnable cans and bottles on the amount of domestic and commercial waste; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department commissioned a project last year to evaluate whether a deposit system could provide additional value in the UK alongside the current packaging waste recovery system. The work has now been completed and has taken into account existing deposit and return schemes in other parts of Europe, the USA and Canada. The Government will evaluate the findings including an assessment of the likely cost implications, taking account of the fact that additional costs are likely to be passed on to consumers.
	The Department has also had discussions with the Advisory Committee on Packaging, regarding the impact of a deposit system. A task force concluded that the costs would be significant, and might be in the region of 1 billion to 7 billion, depending on how any such systems were set up.
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has also been leading a 1.2 million project to help retailers pilot new ways of encouraging householders to return their wastes to collection systems at supermarkets for recycling. The project has looked at whether these new approaches, including the use of new technology in bring banks and incentives such as discount vouchers, could help bolster recycling rates and attract new recyclers.

Recycling

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what standards the Government plan to introduce for operators recycling televisions and computer monitors containing cathode ray tubes.

Ben Bradshaw: The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive aims to minimise WEEE arisings and to encourage reuse, recycling and recovery.
	Article 6(1) and annex II of the Directive introduce requirements for the treatment of collected items of WEEE to remove certain substances, preparations and components. The aim is to avoid the dispersion of pollutants into any recycled material or the waste stream. Cathode ray tubes (including their fluorescent coating) are among the substances that have to be removed.
	This type of treatment will be subject to waste management licencing to ensure the protection of the environment and human health. We will publish guidance on how to comply with these requirements for those involved with the treatment of WEEE once regulations are made to transpose these provisions.

Specified Risk Material

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action he is taking to enable butchers who remove specified risk material from carcases to return such material to the abattoir.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 16 June 2006
	The Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (No. 2) Regulations 2006, came into force on 3 May. They enable any butcher to apply to their local authority for an authorisation to remove vertebral column from the carcases or part carcases of cattle which are between 24 and 30 months of age. Vertebral column from this age group of cattle is specified risk material.
	We are working closely with industry representatives to facilitate the disposal of vertebral column removed from carcases at butchers' shops and have discussed the possibility of having approved intermediate plants operating on abattoir sites. This would allow vertebral column to be returned to the abattoir of origin for disposal. Abattoirs wishing to pursue this option should notify their local animal health office at the earliest opportunity.
	Other disposal routes available include rendering and incineration or the use of collectors such as knackers. Guidance on the disposal of vertebral column has been drawn up in consultation with the industry and will be available shortly.

Veterinary Practices

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many veterinary practices there were in  (a) 2006 and  (b) 1991.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not hold information on the number of veterinary practices.

Warden Bay Scheme

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Warden Bay scheme will include replacing the woodland at the top of the cliff.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 16 June 2006
	I refer to the answer given on 12 June 2006,  Official Report, column 905W, which explained that Swale borough council is promoting the Warden Bay coast protection project and details of its construction are a matter for that authority. My hon. Friend may wish to contact the council direct to establish their plans for the area of woodland in question.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what mechanism the Waste and Resources Action Programme Real Nappy Scheme is audited.

Ben Bradshaw: The Real Nappy Scheme is funded through the Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) and run by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). WRAP publishes an annual report, which lists the achievements of each of its programmes. WRAP's accounts are audited on an annual basis by their own auditors, like any other company, and the Real Nappy Programme is considered as part of that process. In addition, the National Audit Office (NAO) is carrying out an investigation into reducing the reliance on landfill in England. As part of that process, they have considered the impact of WIP including the Real Nappy Programme. It is expected that the finalised NAO report will be available later this summer.

Water Extraction

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much water has been abstracted from the river  (a) Lugg,  (b) Arrow and  (c) Wye in each month since January 2004.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency has provided the following information which is taken from data received from licence holders who are authorised to abstract water from the rivers Arrow, Lugg and Wye. The data cover the period 2004 and 2005.
	The information does not include any data declared as commercially confidential.
	
		
			  River Lugg 
			  Cubic metres 
			   2004  2005 
			 January 445,182 429,002 
			 February 392,922 410,636 
			 March 430,350 430,892 
			 April 417,979 405,629 
			 May 510,077 465,109 
			 June 469,213 197,099 
			 July 499,943 251,026 
			 August 442,533 180,490 
			 September 428,585 845,724 
			 October 483,706 493,262 
			 November 429,688 430,440 
			 December 494,898 497,852 
			 Total 5,445,076 5,037,161 
		
	
	
		
			  River Arrow 
			  Cubic metres 
			   2004  2005 
			 January 4,900  
			 February 4,900  
			 March 4,900  
			 April 4,900  
			 May 5,266  
			 June 9,858 2,906 
			 July 11,993 5,475 
			 August 991 1,300 
			 September 4,900  
			 October 4,900  
			 November 4,900  
			 December 4,900  
			 Total 67,308 9,681 
		
	
	
		
			  River Wye 
			  Cubic metres 
			   2004  2005 
			 January 2,824,006 2,418,956 
			 February 2,572,504 1,827,142 
			 March 2,674,162 11,516,887 
			 April 2,581,641 2,540,052 
			 May 2,391,498 3,035,505 
			 June 3,340,550 3,458,862 
			 July 3,509,541 4,075,843 
			 August 3,326,877 2,980,020 
			 September 3,294,570 2,746,270 
			 October 2,702,291 2,707,629 
			 November 2,455,457 2,716,335 
			 December 3,583,783 2,559,602 
			 Total 35,256,880 42,583,103

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol Misuse and Enforcement Campaign

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much will be made available to police through the Alcohol Misuse and Enforcement Campaign between  (a) 9 June and 9 July and  (b) 10 July and 10 August, broken down by constabulary.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 14 June 2006
	The latest Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC) ran from 8 May 2006 until 8 June 2006 with an additional 2.35 million provided to local forces and trading standards authorities for this period. One key purpose of this campaign was to set the tone of acceptable behaviour and how the use of alcohol would be policed both for the World Cup and the summer. The campaign did not extend into the period of the World Cup itself, as the police service has its own well-established plans for policing during major sporting events which are funded through the service's mainstream resources.

Animal Experiments

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact of Government guidelines on the treatment of animals used in scientific experimentation; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the merits of strengthening Government guidelines on the treatment of animals in scientific experimentation; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: It has long been our policy to assess and satisfy the welfare needs of animals bred and used under the licensing controls of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. We are working to ensure that the highest possible standards of animal welfare are applied to animals used in scientific procedures and that they are used only where it is fully justified, where the benefits outweigh the costs and where there are no suitable alternatives.
	The animals must be housed and cared for in accordance with codes of practice published and laid before Parliament under the 1986 Act. These codes set standards which have to be met as a requirement of licence conditions, and the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate closely monitors compliance. In their report published in July 2002, the House of Lords Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures recognised the progress that had been made since the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 came into force in fostering a culture of care towards animals used in scientific procedures in establishments designated under that legislation.
	The culture of care in the United Kingdom is indeed probably better than anywhere else in the world, and we remain committed to maintaining and improving that position. United Kingdom standards and best practice have been used extensively to inform revised guidance on the accommodation and care of laboratory animals adopted on 15 June 2006 by the Council of Europe.
	The new guidelines include a considerable increase in the minimum amount of space that must be allocated to animals. This will help to promote more group accommodation and a more stimulating and interesting environment for the animals. In anticipation of their adoption, we have for some time been advising United Kingdom users to work to the Council of Europe draft guidelines. The United Kingdom codes of practice will be revised to reflect these improved practices, where necessary, in due course.

Animal Experiments

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that animals used in laboratory experiments are kept in adequate conditions.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 19 June 2006
	It has long been our policy to assess and satisfy the welfare needs of animals bred and used under the licensing controls of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. We are working to ensure that the highest possible standards of animal welfare are applied to animals used in scientific procedures and that they are used only where it is fully justified, where the benefits outweigh the costs and where there are no suitable alternatives.
	The animals must be housed and cared for in accordance with codes of practice published and laid before Parliament under the 1986 Act. These codes set standards which have to be met as a requirement of licence conditions, and the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate closely monitors compliance. In their report published in July 2002, the House of Lords Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures recognised the progress that had been made since the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 came into force in fostering a culture of care towards animals used in scientific procedures in establishments designated under that legislation.
	The culture of care in the United Kingdom is indeed probably better than anywhere else in the world, and we remain committed to maintaining and improving that position. United Kingdom standards and best practice have been used extensively to inform revised guidance on the accommodation and care of laboratory animals adopted on 15 June 2006 by the Council of Europe.
	The new guidelines include a considerable increase in the minimum amount of space that must be allocated to animals. This will help to promote more group accommodation and a more stimulating and interesting environment for the animals. In anticipation of their adoption, we have for some time been advising United Kingdom users to work to the Council of Europe draft guidelines. The United Kingdom codes of practice will be revised to reflect these improved practices, where necessary, in due course.

Antisocial Behaviour

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures to tackle antisocial behaviour have been introduced by his Department since 1997; and what the take-up for each measure has been to date in  (a) Dudley and  (b) the West Midlands.

Tony McNulty: Building and enforcing a modern culture of respect and tackling antisocial behaviour is a priority for the Government. On 10 January the Government published the Respect Action Plan. The plan is central to the Government's drive to step up and broaden the clampdown on antisocial behaviour and to promote good behaviour.
	Prior to this the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 put in place a range of measures to tackle antisocial behaviour and gave local agencies the tools they need to tackle antisocial behaviour on the ground. Key measures in the Act include:
	Powers to close premises where drugs are used unlawfully.
	Powers enabling social landlords to take action against antisocial tenants.
	A package of support and sanctions to enable parents to prevent and tackle antisocial behaviour among children.
	Powers to allow police officers to disperse groups of people who are causing nuisance or intimidating others.
	Powers for environmental health officers to close noisy premises.
	Powers to tackle graffiti and fly-posting.
	The Housing Act 2004 also contained important measures to enable landlords to tackle antisocial behaviour. A survey of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships in England and Wales in 2005 found that:
	514 crack house closure orders were made between January 2004 and September 2005;
	809 areas were designated as dispersal areas between January 2004 and June 2005;
	2,369 parenting contracts and orders were made between October 2003 and September 2005;
	13,478 acceptable behaviour contracts were made between October 2003 and September 2005.
	Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) were introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and have been available since April 1999. In Dudley 30 ASBOs have been issued between April 1999 and September 2005. 552 ASBOs have been issued in the West Midlands during the same period.

Antisocial Behaviour

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in each London borough in each year since their inception, broken down by  (a) age and  (b) sex; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The available information is given in tables which will be placed in the Library.

Building Safer Communities Fund

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding from the Building Safer Communities Fund has been allocated to  (a) Leeds city council and  (b) the basic command units of West Yorkshire Police within the Leeds city council district in each of the last three years.

Tony McNulty: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) in Leeds City Council received a total of 3,987,656 under the Building Safer Communities Fund over the last three financial years, broken down as follows: 2003-04 1,307,428, 2004-05, 1,340,114, 2005-06 1,340,114.
	 (b) The Basic Command Unit of City and Holbeck within the West Yorkshire Police force has received a total of 1,111,170 under the Basic Command Unit (BCU) Fund over the last three financial years, broken down as follows: 2003-04 370,390, 2004-05 370,390, 2005-06 370,390.

Cannabis

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average number of grammes of cannabis found on people charged with possession of cannabis was in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The requested information is not collected centrally.

CCTV

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment he made of the cohesiveness of Government, local authority, town and parish council funding streams for developing a viable and robust network of CCTV cameras;
	(2)  how much central Government funding has been spent on CCTV cameras in the area covered by Leeds city council in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how much funding for CCTV cameras has been allocated by town and parish councils in the Leeds city council district in each of the last three years.

Tony McNulty: There is continuing interest in the further development of CCTV across the country. The Government offices in the regions have a role in ensuring all interested parties, including local authorities and town and parish councils are involved, both in the planning and in finding the appropriate funds. Although there is no National CCTV strategy at the moment, work is under way to produce one by the end of the year. Under the Crime Reduction Programme, Central Government provided 869,000 funding during 2001-02 for Leeds Watch Local, a CCTV scheme under the second round of the CCTV initiative. Money has been made more widely available since then through general crime reduction funding streams, for example under the Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF).The allocation for CCTV cameras in the Leeds city council district over the last three years was 2,170,000. Exact figures at town and parish council level are not held but funding, where allocated locally, was split fairly equally at approximately 720,000 each year.

Community Support Officers

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding the Government have provided for police community support officers in each police force in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The table gives details of Government funding to police authorities for police community support officers (PCSOs) in the four years since they were first appointed.
	
		
			  000 
			   Total 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06( 1) 
			 Avon and Somerset 57.5 415.2 845.9 1,856.6 
			 Bedfordshire 0.0 59.5 234.4 543.6 
			 Cambridgeshire 66.5 376.2 644.4 1,050.8 
			 Cheshire 42.0 208.9 387.3 712.3 
			 City of London 0.0 0.0 43.2 388.9 
			 Cleveland 300.0 1,022.4 1 ,069.4 1,310.7 
			 Cumbria 0.0 0.0 111.4 360.8 
			 Derbyshire 0.0 0.0 210.2 1,012.3 
			 Devon and Cornwall 153.6 606.5 780.0 1,043.8 
			 Dorset 86.8 145.1 333.6 603.3 
			 Durham 54.9 125.2 339.4 760.1 
			 Dyfed Powys 0.0 23.7 175.2 508.5 
			 Essex 62.4 278.8 1,068.1 1 ,958.5 
			 Gloucestershire 0.0 174.5 434.1 1,000.6 
			 Greater Manchester 1 ,263.2 3,388.7 3,250.2 4,136.0 
			 Gwent 147.3 708.5 943.2 1 ,582.6 
			 Hampshire 0.0 0.0 111.8 559.7 
			 Hertfordshire 121.4 501.8 663.9 1,030.2 
			 Humberside 0.0 0.0 96.6 480.5 
			 Kent 71.7 582.6 909.7 1,432.1 
			 Lancashire 672.7 1 ,644.0 1 ,673.8 2,603.7 
			 Leicestershire 234.8 640.5 657.5 1,316.7 
			 Lincolnshire 147.6 559.4 680.0 1,111.7 
			 Merseyside 167.6 845.9 1,183.4 3,484.7 
			 Metropolitan Police 6,400.0 15,474.5 17,241.6 21,001.8 
			 Norfolk 136.0 389.3 547.9 836.6 
			 North Wales 0.0 52.6 204.5 1 ,040.9 
			 North Yorkshire 0.0 298.0 515.4 907.6 
			 Northamptonshire 199.0 262.2 427.2 639.9 
			 Northumbria 0.0 176.5 712.5 2,077.5 
			 Nottinghamshire 104.2 400.3 949.6 1,674.5 
			 South Wales 0.0 276.7 760.2 1 ,889.3 
			 South Yorkshire 208.4 289.0 590.4 1 ,343.6 
			 Staffordshire 0.0 15.2 325.2 1,192.3 
			 Suffolk 0.0 60.2 260.0 641.6 
			 Surrey 350.0 1,093.6 1,136.7 1,418.1 
			 Sussex 111.2 703.9 1,004.3 1,500.1 
			 TVP 0.0 34.1 370.8 2,077.6 
			 Warwickshire 119.8 262.2 480.7 786.0 
			 West Mercia 68.4 283.2 536.8 781.4 
			 West Midlands 0.0 205.9 1,072.1 2,566.4 
			 West Yorkshire 534.2 2,030.4 3,150.0 4,689.3 
			 Wiltshire 63.8 373.6 398.8 596.8 
			 Total 11,945.0 34,988.8 47,531.4 78,510.0 
			 (1 )Subject to audit

Correspondence

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reply to the letter of 2 May 2006 from the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East to the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State regarding his constituent Mrs. P. Day of Southend-on Sea.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 16 June 2006
	I can confirm that I will be writing to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East.

Crime (Ealing)

Piara S Khabra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of violent crime there were in Ealing Southall constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available, broken down by type of crime.

Tony McNulty: Southall comes within the Ealing Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area. There were 9,962 violent crimes recorded in Ealing in 2004-05. Of these, 8,009 were offences of violence against the person, 388 were sexual offences and 1,565 were offences of robbery.

Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many domestic violence incidents dealt with by police in  (a) England and Wales,  (b) Luton and  (c) Bedfordshire in the last five years involved (i) repeat victims and (ii) repeat visits to the same address.

Tony McNulty: Data for the number of reported incidents of domestic violence that involved victims of a reported domestic violence incident in the previous 12 months are available from 2002-03 for Luton and Bedfordshire and given in the following table. Data are not available for England and Wales as a whole. Information on repeat visits to the same address is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Number of reported incidents of domestic violence that involved victims of a reported domestic violence incident in the previous 12 months 
			   Luton  Bedfordshire 
			 2002-03 1,890 2,962 
			 2003-04 1,818 3,295 
			 2004-05 1,924 3,287

Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the trend over the last five years in the number of repeat victims in cases of domestic violence investigated by police in  (a) England and Wales,  (b) Luton and  (c) Bedfordshire.

Tony McNulty: Between 2002-03 and 2004-05, the number of reported incidents of domestic violence that involved victims of a reported domestic violence incident in the previous 12 months has risen by under 2 per cent. in Luton and 11 per cent. in Bedfordshire. Data are not available for England and Wales as a whole.

Drug Intervention Programme

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the results of the Drug Intervention Programme.

Vernon Coaker: Since the introduction of the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) in April 2003, over 45,000 drug misusing offenders have entered treatment through DIP. The programme continues to have a positive impact in communities not only through the interventions that it offers but also by delivering a more integrated approach by local agencies to the problems of offenders. Acquisitive recorded crimeto which drug related crime (including theft) makes a substantial contributionfell by 12 per cent. in the year to April 2005 compared with the previous 12 months.
	The programme is highly regarded by operational staff and the many offenders whose lives it has helped to change. Its success has been achieved through a combination of additional resources, new legislation, revised working practices and a stronger focus on partnership working.
	We are on track to achieve the overall target of 1,000 offenders a week (4,300 a month) into treatment by 2008. In April 2006 over 2,800 offenders engaged in treatment through DIP. The programme continues to be developed and strengthened. For example, from 31 March 2006 testing on arrest has been rolled out to 98 areas.
	Those testing positive are required to attend an assessment with a drugs worker. Testing on arrest is a way of identifying drug misusers at an early stage in the criminal justice process. Restriction on bail is now available across all local justice areas in England.

Drugs

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted of drug trafficking offences in each of the last five years, broken down by police force.

Vernon Coaker: The table shows the number of people found guilty at court or cautioned in England and Wales police force areas between 2000 and 2004 for drug trafficking offences. Trafficking offences include: possession with intent to supply, unlawful supply, unlawful production and unlawful import or export.
	
		
			  Persons found guilty or cautioned for drug trafficking offences( 1) , by police force area, England and Wales, 2000 to 2004 
			  Number of persons (rounded) 
			  Police force area  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Avon and Somerset 310 250 280 320 320 
			 Bedfordshire 100 110 110 110 80 
			 Cambridgeshire 110 100 120 210 140 
			 Cheshire 200 150 170 170 220 
			 Cleveland 170 210 220 240 240 
			 Cumbria 120 100 110 130 150 
			 Derbyshire 210 200 220 210 260 
			 Devon and Cornwall 360 330 350 370 320 
			 Dorset 150 110 110 100 110 
			 Durham 190 160 140 160 120 
			 Essex 250 210 250 220 240 
			 Gloucestershire 100 90 120 140 130 
			 Greater Manchester 990 670 710 760 880 
			 Hampshire 390 270 310 380 390 
			 Hertfordshire 130 130 130 130 190 
			 Humberside 210 170 240 290 400 
			 Kent 460 340 310 350 410 
			 Lancashire 320 290 410 510 500 
			 Leicestershire 190 140 150 220 270 
			 Lincolnshire 80 100 100 90 120 
			 Merseyside 430 320 360 450 480 
			 City of London 20 10 20 20 10 
			 Metropolitan 2,300 2,370 2,520 2,230 2,340 
			 City of London and Metropolitan Police 2,320 2,380 2,550 2,250 2,350 
			 Norfolk 190 120 140 150 210 
			 Northamptonshire 180 100 80 70 140 
			 Northumbria 400 440 430 520 460 
			 North Yorkshire 130 100 130 120 150 
			 Nottinghamshire 330 260 270 290 440 
			 South Yorkshire 360 350 290 410 450 
			 Staffordshire 170 180 240 240 270 
			 Suffolk 220 120 130 180 190 
			 Surrey 150 140 140 150 150 
			 Sussex 450 520 570 550 450 
			 Thames Valley 320 300 270 310 320 
			 Warwickshire 90 50 60 80 90 
			 West Mercia 330 270 210 220 290 
			 West Midlands 690 660 640 790 790 
			 West Yorkshire 1,010 770 630 590 870 
			 Wiltshire 170 110 100 120 120 
			 Dyfed-Powys 240 180 210 230 170 
			 Gwent 200 210 140 120 140 
			 North Wales 130 110 100 100 130 
			 South Wales 410 380 380 420 530 
			 (1) Unlawful import and export, unlawful production of drugs (including cannabis), unlawful supply and possession with intent to supply unlawfully.

Extremist Exploitation

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking towards making young people less vulnerable to being influenced and exploited by extremists.

Tony McNulty: Together with the Muslim communities, we are taking forward projects designed to reduce the risk of radicalisation of vulnerable young people. Examples of these projects are; The National Roadshow of Influential Populist Scholars, work with the UK Youth Parliament seeking new and effective tools for engagement and youth workshops to challenge the radicalisation of Muslim youth. The Prison Service have commissioned a three year project on how prison service policies on preparing prisoners for release meets the needs of Muslim prisoners. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office have a full programme of media intensive visits by British Muslim delegations to a number of countries in the Muslim world. And as a Government we are committed to prioritising policies that tackle the real and perceived socio-economic inequalities confronting Muslim communities today. As well as focusing on tackling the issue of young Muslims being influenced and exploited by extremists, the Home Office has funded a number of initiatives in Burnley, Oldham and Bradford which are involved in engaging young people at risk of joining far right extremist organisations. The Home Office also works closely with Rewind a project aimed at tackling issues of racism among young people. We are also supporting an initiative in Blackburn with Darwen which will bring together young girls across faith groups to discuss issues of racism and extremism.

Firearms

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many incidents a deactivated gun that has been reactivated was used in shootings and armed violence in England and Wales in the last five years; and which of these incidents resulted in murder.

Tony McNulty: Data for recorded crime involving specific types of imitation firearms in England and Wales have been collected centrally only since April 2004.
	In 2004-05, police recorded one violent offence that involved a deactivated firearm. The weapon was used as a threat and did not result in injury.

Iris Scans

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the results were of the airport-based Iris Recognition Immigration System pilots; what percentage of iris scans were successful; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: The IRIS Project Board agreed on 5 May 2006 that the project should exit its pilot stage. At that point the IRIS enrolment biometric acceptance rate was 99.53 per cent. compared to the contract pilot acceptance criterion of 98 per cent. I will make a written statement to the House on the overall results of the IRIS Project Report once it is complete.

Knives

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knives have been handed in during the amnesty in Houghton and Washington East constituency.

Tony McNulty: Figures for the number of items handed in during the amnesty are being collected at force level. The number of items surrendered after the first week in Northumbria is 617. Final figures will be published after they have been collated following the end of the amnesty (30 June).

London Terrorist Attacks

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average compensation paid to those who lost  (a) one and  (b) two limbs as a result of the terrorist attacks on 7 July 2005 was; and whether further consideration is being given to increasing the sums involved.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 8 May 2006
	Compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is paid on the basis of a tariff (scale) of awards for injuries of comparable severity. The tariff awards for the loss of limbs are as under: loss of one leg below knee 33,000, loss of one leg above knee 44,000, loss of one hand or arm 44,000, loss of both hands or arms 110,000, loss of both legs 110,000. Victims who lose a limb are likely to be eligible for additional compensation for loss of earnings, loss of future earning capacity and the costs of special care. Such compensation will vary according to individual circumstances.
	In most such cases final settlement of the claim will not be possible until the final prognosis for recovery is clear, and a final assessment can be made with regard to lost earning capacity and the costs of future care. However, a substantial interim award or awards will be made where a final determination cannot be made for some time. We announced on 8 June 2006,  Official Report, column 38WS, that we were making an extra donation of 2.5 million to the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund to give assistance to bereaved and the injured victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The further support was being made on a special, one-off basis in recognition of the exceptional circumstances of the London bombings, rather than under the rules of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, which would require a change to legislation.

Mentally Ill Prisoners

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who work with mental health patients have been murdered by patients in each of the last 10 years for which records are available.

Tony McNulty: The requested data are not collected centrally for inclusion on the Homicide Index.

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer Question 51888 tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South on 10 February 2006 on transport for prisoners.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I replied to the hon. Member on 18 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1220W.

Parliamentary Questions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will provide a substantive response to question 63667, tabled by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight on 30 March, on the Security Industry Authority.

Vernon Coaker: I refer the hon. member to the reply given 6 June 2006,  Official Report, column 299W. I can confirm that in the 10 weeks following the offence date of 20 March 127 warnings have been issued and the SIA have conducted six operations as part of Operation Forewarn. The SIA has a regionally-based compliance team of 33.

People Trafficking

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the number of people trafficked into the UK for  (a) sexual slavery and  (b) forced labour in each year since 1997, broken down by country of origin.

Vernon Coaker: It is difficult to make an accurate assessment of the number of people trafficked into the UK for sexual or labour exploitation and particularly by reference to the year and country of origin. An indicator of the number of victims involved in this type of trafficking is the number of referrals to the Poppy project. Since the scheme's inception in 2003 a total of 184 women who met the criteria for the project have been referred to it (out of a total of 451 referrals between March 2003 and the end of March 2006). However, the scheme operates mainly in London and has tightly focused criteria, so the number of victims nationwide is likely to be higher. A breakdown of the country of origin for women who met the criteria for the Poppy project follows. Operation Pentameter, a police-led, multi-agency initiative aimed at tackling the trafficking of human beings for sexual exploitation has resulted in the rescue of 75 women since its launch on the 21 February. These cases are subject to on-going investigation and as such it would not be appropriate to disclose the country of origin of the potential trafficking victims. The Home Office has commissioned CEOP, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, to conduct an intelligence gathering exercise to scope the problem of child trafficking in the UK; initial findings are expected in the autumn.
	There is currently little information on the scale of trafficking for labour exploitation and officials are considering ways in which our knowledge can be improved. Illegal working statistics may provide some indication of the possible size of the illegal working market. Statistical returns are provided on a monthly basis by local enforcement offices, showing the breakdown by nationality of those encountered during illegal working operations. There is currently no facility available to record whether those encountered have been trafficked for the purpose of labour exploitation. However, following are statistics available for illegal working operations for each financial year since 2002 with the top five nationalities identified (figures are not available prior to 2002). 2002-03A total of 301 operations were reported; a total of 1,099 offenders were encountered. Poland, Lithuania, Brazil, Ukraine and Pakistan were the top five nationalities identified in descending order. 2003-04A total of 697 operations were reported in 2003-04; a total of 2,304 offenders were encountered. Brazil, Poland, Lithuania, Bangladesh and Ukraine were the top five nationalities identified in descending order. 2004-05A total of 3,314 operations were reported in 2004-05; a total of 9,227 offenders were encountered. Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Brazil were the top five nationalities identified in descending order.

People Trafficking

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to expand the Poppy scheme for victims of human sex trafficking.

Vernon Coaker: In April the Home Office entered into a two-year, 2.4 million funding agreement with Eaves Housing for Women for the expansion of the Poppy project. This funding will not only provide for the existing crisis provision service for up to 25 women, it will also meet the costs of 10 additional step-down places which will help the women to live semi-independently with less intensive support, and the development of a resource pack for victims, service providers and law enforcement agency staff. It will also introduce the first ever specialist national outreach service in the UK for victims trafficked into sexual exploitation. Whilst the project remains London based it will continue to take referrals from across the country and provide a national service. We are currently looking at how best to utilise other existing local service providers to support victims and will continue to consider the feasibility of further extending the Poppy model of support to other areas in the future.

People Trafficking

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were identified as victims of child trafficking in the UK in each year between 2001 and 2005; from which countries they came; what percentage of those children had been sexually abused; and through which agencies most of those victims of child trafficking were found.

Vernon Coaker: The Government have no centrally collated data on the number of children trafficked into the UK. The Home Office recognises there is an urgent need to improve its intelligence on this issue and for this reason have commissioned a scoping project in partnership with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOPS) to estimate the scale and nature of the problem including source countries. Additionally newly established Minors Intelligence Teams based at Croydon and Liverpool Asylum screening units now provide monthly reports on children who have been identified as being at risk including those that they believe have been trafficked.

People Trafficking

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taking to deter child trafficking into the UK.

Vernon Coaker: The Government have taken a number of steps to deter child trafficking into the UK. They have, for example, strengthened the legislative framework by including the offence of trafficking children in the Sexual Offences Act, 2003 and the Asylum and Immigration Act, 2004. Additionally, the Sexual Offences Act introduced new offences of abuse of children through prostitution and pornography which aim to protect children under the age of 18. The law enforcement response to human trafficking is co-ordinated by Reflex, the multi agency task force on organised immigration crime, established in 2000. Reflex has been working closely with police forces in the regions to increase awareness of human trafficking and build capacity to tackle it. A key thrust of its activity is to develop our intelligence base, thereby improving our knowledge and understanding of the extent and nature of child trafficking within the UK. The establishment of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) on 1 April 2006 brings a renewed focus on improving intelligence and targeting those organised crime groups causing the most harm. The previous Home Secretary (Mr. Clarke) made clear in his letter to all chief constables, in June 2005, that police forces should increase their efforts against organised immigration crime, focusing particularly on human trafficking. A national action plan is being developed this year incorporating the responses from the UK consultation on tackling human trafficking. The action plan will include measures to deter child trafficking. Responses to the plan from stakeholders are currently being collated with a view to publishing a summary report of these on 21 June 2006. The Government are increasing their engagement with developing countries in helping to eradicate the root causes of trafficking such as poverty, social exclusion, discrimination against women, girls and inequality. The Government are working with several overseas countries to prevent human trafficking by helping to tackle poverty and removing the conditions that lead to forced migration. The Government are also seeking to build the capacity of these countries to combat trafficking by improving ways of stemming the problem. Through our embassies and consulates we are working to raise awareness in source countries on the dangers of trafficking among potential victims.

People Trafficking

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what programmes are in place to ensure that recovered children are not re-trafficked.

Vernon Coaker: Children who have been identified as having been trafficked and who are considered to be at risk are looked after by local authorities under section 20 of the 1989 Children Act. The arrangements for trafficked children as for other children in need in the UK are matters for local authorities to decide based on careful analysis of the risks, the needs and the circumstances facing that particular child.
	The Home Office National Asylum Seekers Service (NASS) is conducting a review together with the Department for Education and Skills, to ensure that safe arrangements for lone asylum-seeking children who have been assessed as being at risk from traffickers can be incorporated in those for other unaccompanied foreign national minors in need of support. This work will be carried out in partnership with the most knowledgeable and experienced local authorities. Her Majesty's Government are aware that children returned to certain countries could be put at risk of further harm, with the likelihood of being re-trafficked. As a general principle, therefore, children will only be returned, where it is considered both possible and safe to do so and only after a full assessment of each case has been thoroughly carried out. Before considering the return of a child, full consideration is given to the Government's obligations under the immigration laws and the European Convention on Human Rights and the unique circumstances of each case including an assessment of the country of origin.

People Trafficking

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which counterparts in other countries he  (a) has discussed and  (b) plans to discuss actions to tackle the growth in human trafficking.

Vernon Coaker: My right hon. Friend Tony McNulty, along with Lord Goldsmith attended the G8 meeting on 15 and 16 of June the agenda for which included human trafficking. The Government are actively involved in discussions on how to tackle trafficking with other EU countries as part of the EU Action Plan which we initiated. We will keep under review the need for bilateral discussions as and when they arise.

People Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the Government have transposed the Council of the European Union's Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings into UK law; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The UK has met its international obligations with the introduction of a range of offences covering trafficking into or out of the UK for sexual exploitation under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and Section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003. With regard to trafficking for non-sexual exploitation, the UK is compliant with the framework decision following the introduction of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004, the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2004 and relevant sections of the Immigration and Asylum Act 2006. An explanatory memorandum to this effect was cleared from scrutiny in the Lords on 13 June.

People Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information the Government have provided to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Programme Against Trafficking in Human Beings for the purposes of establishing a trafficking database.

Vernon Coaker: UN Office on Drugs and Crime trafficking trends database collects a wide range of open source information on trafficking including both qualitative and quantitative information provided by the UK Government. The information provided by the UK Government includes estimates of the volume of trafficking by country, details of trafficking cases dealt with by the criminal justice system, characteristic profiles of victims/ traffickers and details of trafficking routes.

Police

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in favour of keeping West Mercia as a separate police force.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 10 May 2006
	We have received representations from West Mercia police force and authority in favour of allowing West Mercia to stand alone as a strategic force. We have also received correspondence in favour of this option from members of the public and other interested parties in the West Mercia force area.

Police

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many misconduct sanctions have been imposed on police officers in each of the last five years, broken down by type of sanction.

Tony McNulty: The misconduct sanctions imposed on police officers in each of the last five years for which statistics have been collected, broken down by sanction, are as follows:
	
		
			  Disciplinary punishments or misconduct sanctions awarded 
			  Most serious outcome  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Dismissed 41 24 44 33 34 
			 Required to resign 84 73 71 62 57 
			 Reduction in rank 15 19 18 14 13 
			 Reduction in pay 7 3
			 Fine 154 191 169 138 115 
			 Reprimand 86 88 58 42 45 
			 Caution 51 50 42 21 18 
			 No action 4 8 7 14 42 
			 Written warnings 760 897 1,120 1,221 880 
			  Sources: 1. Police Complaints and Discipline England and Wales, 12 months to March 2003 Home Office 2. Police Complaints and Discipline England and Wales, 12 months to March 2004 Home Office 3. Police Complaints: Statistics for England and Wales 2004-05 IPCC

Police

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister about merging police forces in England and Wales since his appointment.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has regular discussions with his right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, about the whole range of my responsibilities.

Police

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) serving and  (b) former police officers of each police force have been imprisoned in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not held centrally.

Police

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police recruits have dropped out of training in each police force in each of the last five years; and what percentage this represents of the total number of recruits in each year.

Tony McNulty: The figures in table A refer to police recruits who have voluntarily resigned from their force within their probationary period. Data are only available from 2003 onwards. The figures in table B are force recruitment data for the same period. The probationary period is two years in length and an officer may be recruited in one year and then resign in the next. For this reason, it is not possible accurately to cross-reference the two sets of data so as to express the number of resignations during any given year as a percentage of the officers recruited during that year.
	
		
			  Table A: Probationer officer leavers full-time equivalent( 1)  by year 
			   As at 31 March 
			  Force  2003  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 6 21 18 
			 Bedfordshire 16 25 26 
			 Cambridgeshire 14 9 16 
			 Cheshire 6 6 5 
			 Cleveland 0 15 10 
			 Cumbria 4 3 8 
			 Derbyshire 4 9 8 
			 Devon and Cornwall 10 5 17 
			 Dorset 6 12 12 
			 Durham 3 3 12 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2 4 9 
			 Essex 5 13 35 
			 Gloucestershire 5 8 11 
			 Greater Manchester 20 67 71 
			 Gwent 0 2 5 
			 Hampshire 20 40 24 
			 Hertfordshire 16 39 40 
			 Humberside 2 17 13 
			 Kent 13 31 18 
			 Lancashire 2 12 19 
			 Leicestershire 5 8 19 
			 Lincolnshire 8 7 7 
			 London, City of 8 5 4 
			 Merseyside 8 11 16 
			 Metropolitan Police 289 377 200 
			 Norfolk 5 6 4 
			 Northamptonshire 7 6 3 
			 Northumbria 4 10 11 
			 North Wales 2 1 3 
			 North Yorkshire 0  0 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 6 7 
			 South Wales 11 8 9 
			 South Yorkshire 18 15 20 
			 Staffordshire 5 13 28 
			 Suffolk 9 17 13 
			 Surrey 15 20 19 
			 Sussex 24 84 74 
			 Thames Valley 32 34 60 
			 Warwickshire 5 4 0 
			 West Mercia 6 11 8 
			 West Midlands 51 46 45 
			 West Yorkshire 16 24 28 
			 Wiltshire 8 7 6 
			 Total 690 1,060 961 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Police officer joiners( 1) 
			   As at 31 March 
			  Force  2003  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 40 317 93 
			 Bedfordshire 89 178 106 
			 Cambridgeshire 77 107 99 
			 Cheshire 141 153 82 
			 Cleveland 129 138 83 
			 Cumbria 63 113 51 
			 Derbyshire 146 146 64 
			 Devon and Cornwall 138 131 200 
			 Dorset 72 86 76 
			 Durham 21 104 79 
			 Dyfed-Powys 7 53 35 
			 Essex 40 225 276 
			 Gloucestershire 53 98 60 
			 Greater Manchester 113 978 233 
			 Gwent 45 78 102 
			 Hampshire 267 282 204 
			 Hertfordshire 202 279 155 
			 Humberside 57 188 126 
			 Kent 192 290 191 
			 Lancashire 240 311 148 
			 Leicestershire 116 245 123 
			 Lincolnshire 64 44 59 
			 London, City of 45 52 39 
			 Merseyside 101 192 389 
			 Metropolitan Police 2,443 2,974 1,880 
			 Norfolk 71 56 77 
			 Northamptonshire 45 99 109 
			 Northumbria 151 197 159 
			 North Wales 75 66 71 
			 North Yorkshire 99 82 71 
			 Nottinghamshire 89 138 138 
			 South Wales 180 173 118 
			 South Yorkshire 103 261 205 
			 Staffordshire 29 137 117 
			 Suffolk 81 113 37 
			 Surrey 93 116 129 
			 Sussex 139 320 229 
			 Thames Valley 306 479 361 
			 Warwickshire 57 51 59 
			 West Mercia 235 88 90 
			 West Midlands 478 408 476 
			 West Yorkshire 277 337 566 
			 Wiltshire 63 120 70 
			 Total 7,471 11,003 8,035 
			 (1) Joiners include constables who were previously Special Constables or joined as a Police Standard Direct Recruit or on the Police High Potential Development scheme. Figures are based on full-time equivalent which includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Police

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in each police force have been  (a) disciplined and  (b) dismissed for (i) inappropriate use of the internet and (ii) using official telephones to access premium rate telephone numbers in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The requested information is not collected centrally.

Police

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the consultation on the merger of the four existing forces in the West Midlands will cost  (a) his Department and  (b) (i) each individual police force and (ii) each local authority involved.

Tony McNulty: The statutory four month period in which objections can be raised under Sections 32 and 33 of the Police Act 1996 is part of normal Home Office business and, as such, imposes no additional costs. The costs, if any, that police forces and police authorities choose to incur is a matter for the bodies concerned.

Police

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations have been closed in villages and towns with a population smaller than 10,000 inhabitants in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Police

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answers of 7 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 741-42W, on the police, whether his strategic objectives in relation to West Mercia police differ from those of his predecessor.

Tony McNulty: As my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, made clear during the course of Home Office oral questions on 19 June, he believes that the creation of strategic police forces will bring benefits both in improving protective services and safeguarding dedicated local policing. However, he also made it clear that he wants to engage in further discussion with police forces and police authorities on how best to move to strategic police forces.

Police

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will withdraw the guidance to police forces contained in Annex C of his Department's circular 46/2004;
	(2)  if he will amend the guidance to police forces on reviewing injury pensions so that injured officers who were in receipt of such a pension prior to the introduction of the current guidance will not have their pension reviewed earlier than their state retirement age;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effect of new legislation on age discrimination on the existing guidance to police forces on injury pensions contained in Annex C of Home Office Circular 46/2004.

Tony McNulty: We have no plans to change the guidance in Annex C in HOC 46/2004, which was issued to provide for a fairer and more consistent framework within which police authorities review the injury pensions they are paying. Police authorities have a statutory responsibility to consider at suitable intervals whether the pensioner's loss of earning capacity has altered. The relevant provision is now set out in regulation 37 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006, but the legal obligation has been in place since before 1987, when the previous regulations were made. A wider policy review of the injury award system is planned.

Police

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of the creation of larger police constabularies on response times; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: While no assessment has been made of the effect of the creation of larger police forces on response times, we believe that strategic forces will have greater capability and capacity to deliver effective protective services, response policing and neighbourhood policing for all their communities. Targets on response times are set and monitored locally. It is an operational matter for the chief constable of each area to decide how he or she wishes to deploy the available resources to best serve their communities.

Police

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed merger between Lancashire and Cheshire police authorities on policing in Lancashire.

Tony McNulty: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary's assessment revealed that the most effective option for improving policing for the communities of both Lancashire and Cumbria is for these force areas to amalgamate. This will preserve and embed neighbourhood policing and protect people better against serious crime and terrorism. Both Lancashire and Cumbria police authorities voted in favour of amalgamation.

Pornographic Material

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider introducing legislation to reduce the amount of  (a) pornographic materials in circulation and  (b) bad language, pornography and violence on television; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is as follows.
	 (a) Legislation, including the Obscene Publications Act 1959, the Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981, the Video Recordings Act 1984 and the Communications Act 2003 already exist to protect people against illegal and harmful sexual material. The Government are also currently considering the responses they have received to their Consultation on the Possession of Extreme Pornographic Material which contains proposals to make illegal the simple possession of a limited range of extreme pornographic material.
	 (b) Decisions on broadcast programme standards are a matter for Ofcom, the BBC and S4C to determine independently of Government, according to the provisions of the Broadcasting and Communications Acts.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times in the last 12 months the London Area Manager of the Prison Service, or his representative, has attended multi-agency public protection arrangements strategic management boards within his area.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Four meetings of the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) strategic management boards were held in the last 12 months and a representative of the Area Manager attended all these meetings. The Prison Service is part of the MAPPA Responsible Authority with the Police and Probation and a protocol exists between the agencies which has been signed by the Area Manager. This requires the Area Manager to ensure consistent representation at strategic management board. The main responsibilities of the Prison Service and the Area Manager are to ensure that operational functions work consistently in prisons. This is monitored through assurance visits to each prison by the Area Manager's representative.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed in the Prison Service Race and Equality Advisory Group; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service Race Equality Action Group employs 26 staff.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost has been of the Tasker investigation commissioned by the Prison Service London area office; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This information will be calculated once the investigation is complete.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prison inmates are involved in training courses; how many were on training courses five years ago; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 13 June 2006
	Data in the specific format requested are not available.

Prisons

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mobile telephones have been found in each prison in the possession of inmates in each of the last seven years; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service does not separately record incidents of mobile telephones found in the possession of prisoners and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times illegal drugs have been found in each prison in each of the last seven years, broken down by  (a) type and  (b) quantity of drug; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service does not hold data on drugs finds broken down by type of drug and quantity. Centrally available information records any drug-related find and includes items associated with drug taking.
	Individual prisons will have information on the type and quantity of drugs found and use this information in developing a local drug strategy for combating drug abuse.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what forecast he has made of the prison population on 30 June.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The latest prison population projections are published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 10/05 Updated and Revised Prison Population Projections, 2005-2011, England and Wales.

Private Security Industry Act

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when application procedures for each type of licence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 were opened.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Sector  Open for business  Offence date 
			 Door supervision   
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1 March 2004 4 June 2004 
			 South West 1 June 2004 13 September 2004 
			 Wales 14 June 2004 27 September 2004 
			 Midlands 5 July 2004 18 October 2004 
			 North West 9 August 2004 15 November 2004 
			 North East 6 September 2004 13 December 2004 
			 East 4 October 2004 3 January 2005 
			 South East 25 October 2004 28 February 2005 
			 London 3 January 2005 11 April 2005 
			
			 Vehicle Immobilisers 1 November 2004 3 May 2005 
			
			 Security Guarding 10 January 2005 20 March 2006 
			
			 Cash and Valuables in Transit (CVIT) 10 January 2005 20 March 2006 
			
			 Public Space Surveillance 27 June 2005 20 March 2006 
			
			 Close Protection 1 September 2005 20 March 2006 
			
			 Key Holding 14 November 2005 20 March 2006

Railway/Underground Crime

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes have been reported at each mainline railway station in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of crimes reported at each mainline railway stationnamely those stations in Great Britain managed by Network Railand recorded by the British Transport police (BTP) in each financial year since 2001-02 is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Notifiable offences 
			  Mainline railway station  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Birmingham New Street 1,049 1,053 1,061 1,084 917 
			 Edinburgh Waverley 445 498 590 506 366 
			 Gatwick Airport 144 231 269 273 162 
			 Glasgow Central 592 563 480 409 361 
			 Leeds 781 1,275 1,239 1,388 1,346 
			 Liverpool Limestreet 475 426 436 445 482 
			 London Bridge 548 588 646 575 567 
			 London Cannon Street 34 45 42 60 58 
			 London Charing Cross 317 352 269 303 267 
			 London Euston 1,155 1,151 975 909 840 
			 London Fenchurch Street 50 58 69 55 60 
			 London Kings Cross 1,091 1,274 1,096 1,033 896 
			 London Liverpool Street 756 781 910 916 877 
			 London Paddington 1,102 1,073 1,226 1,065 944 
			 London Victoria 1,732 1,938 1,864 1,956 1,743 
			 London Waterloo 1,788 2,270 2,159 1,979 1,551 
			 Manchester Piccadilly 764 821 843 940 957 
		
	
	In reading the data supplied in the table, the following factors should be considered:
	(i) the data include crimes committed on train journeys ending at these locations as well as those occurring on the stations themselves; and
	(ii) the Home Office introduced a National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) that all police forces across England and Wales were required to adopt. BTP adopted this standard on 1 April 2002. The impact of the new recording standard saw an increase in recorded crime, equating to an average 22 per cent. increase recorded by all police forces across England and Wales. The basic principle of NCRS is that if on the balance of probability a crime has been committed it is recorded as a crime. As a result 2001-02 data cannot be meaningfully compared with subsequent years. The standard has made crime recording more victim focused.

Road Traffic Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) males and  (b) females were (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted in (A) Southend, (B) Essex, (C) Hertfordshire and (D) England and Wales of offences under sections (1) 16 and (2) 17 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by age group.

Vernon Coaker: The table shows numbers of prosecutions and convictions for offences under section 16 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 over the five year period from 2000 to 2004. The offences under section 17 of the same act form part of a group of miscellaneous motoring offences in the data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. It is not possible to separate these offences from others within the group and therefore no separate data can be provided. Data for 2005 will be available in the autumn of 2006.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts, by sex and age group under section 16 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 in England and Wales, 2000 to 2004( 1) 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			  Age  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			  10-11   
			 Male   1 1 1 1 2 2   
			 Female   
			 Total   1 1 1 1 2 2   
			
			  12-14   
			 Male 17 15 22 17 31 21 20 13 24 14 
			 Female 4 2   2 2   2 2 
			 Total 21 17 22 17 33 23 20 13 26 16 
			
			  15-17   
			 Male 106 91 129 105 112 86 116 88 133 105 
			 Female 5 4 9 8 2 2 7 6 6 1 
			 Total 111 95 138 113 114 8 123 94 139 106 
			
			  18-20   
			 Male 84 74 78 67 71 59 72 62 56 52 
			 Female 8 7 1 1 7 5 6 5 1 1 
			 Total 92 81 79 68 78 64 78 67 57 53 
			
			  21 and over   
			 Male 76 60 76 61 57 43 67 54 140 120 
			 Female 5 4 9 8 5 5 8 6 4 4 
			 Total 81 64 85 69 62 48 75 60 144 124 
			
			  All ages   
			 Male 283 240 306 251 272 210 277 219 353 291 
			 Female 22 17 19 17 16 14 21 17 13 8 
			 Total 305 257 325 268 288 224 298 236 366 299 
			 (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis.  Source: RDSOffice for Criminal Justice Reform.

Security Industry Authority

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average wait for a licence issued by the Security Industry Authority has been since licensing was introduced.

Vernon Coaker: The SIA do not calculate the average processing times for applications. Some, such as those involving overseas criminal records checks, unavoidably take a considerable time. The SIA have a published target of processing 80 per cent. of all applications within six weeks, measured from the date that a properly completed application enters the processing system to the date that a licence is issued. From April 2004 until August 2005 the SIA processed 62 per cent. within six weeks and 88 per cent. within nine weeks. Since September 2005, there has been a backlog of applications that have been waiting to enter the system. These have added an additional time of between two and four weeks to the process, so it is now taking up to 10 weeks to process most applications.

Sex Offenders Register

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many  (a) former prisoners and  (b) individuals who have been cautioned were placed on the sex offenders register in each month since the register was introduced;
	(2)  how many  (a) former prisoners and  (b) individuals who have been cautioned and placed on the sex offenders register were in breach of the obligations thereby placed on them in each month since the register was introduced.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The data requested are not collected centrally and to do so would incur a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Annual data on registered sex offenders (RSOs) living in the community in England and Wales 
			   RSOs in the community  RSOs cautioned or convicted for breach of registration requirements 
			 2001-02 18,513 682 
			 2002-03 21,413 780 
			 2003-04 24,572 853 
			 2004-05 28,994 993

Staff Profiles

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of his staff are  (a) under and  (b) over 55 years of age.

Liam Byrne: The number of staff that are  (a) under and  (b) over 55 years of age are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Staff under and over 55 years of age as at 31 December 2005 
			   Number (FTE) 
			   (a) Under 55  (b) 55 and over 
			 Centrally managed Home Office 19,615 2,194 
			 Identity and Passport Service 3,026 349 
			 HM Prison Service 41,328 7,097 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 385 18 
			 Total 64,354 9,658

Swale Borough Council

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to designate Swale borough council as an alcohol control zone.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 19 June 2006
	Local authorities can place restrictions on public drinking in areas with a history of alcohol-related crime, disorder or nuisance by making a Designated Public Place Order (DPPO), sometimes referred to as an 'alcohol control zone'. The power, given under section 13 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, is not available to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and can only be exercised by local government. Current figures reveal that around 170 authorities now have adopted this measure, with around 360 Orders published in England and Wales.

Young Victims of Crime

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of victims of crime have been under 18 years old in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally. With the exception of certain specific sexual offences where the age of the victim is defined by statute, no details of the victim's age are available from the recorded crime series.

TREASURY

Biodiversity

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Minister in his Department is responsible for monitoring his Department's compliance with its duty under section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity in carrying out its functions; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: As Financial Secretary, I am the HM Treasury's Sustainable Development Minister responsible for both sustainable development policy and sustainability of our internal operations.
	HMT is taking a number of steps to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment. These are set out in our sustainable development action plan which is available on our website. http://www.hm- treasury.gov.uk./media/089/DA/sustainabledev_ 170306.pdf .

Birth Rates (Peterborough)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the birth rate was per 1,000 women aged  (a) 19,  (b) 18,  (c) 17,  (d) 16,  (e) 15,  (f) 14 and  (g) under 14 years in (i) Peterborough constituency and (ii) Peterborough city council area in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 June 2006:
	As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the birth rate per 1,000 women aged (a) 19, (b) 18, (c) 17, (d) 16, (e) 15, (f) 14 and (g) under 14 years in (i) Peterborough constituency and (ii) Peterborough City Council area in each year since 1997. (77911)
	Where constituencies are not co-terminous with local authority boundaries, as is the case with Peterborough, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) do not generally release figures based on recording of mother's age at birth registration. This is to protect against disclosure of information provided in confidence. Figures are provided for the relevant local authority instead.
	The latest year for which livebirth data are available is 2005 and the table below shows livebirth rates per 1,000 female population by age for Peterborough Unitary Authority for the period 1997 to 2005. Rates for 2005 are provisional, as they are calculated using mid-2004 population estimates.
	There were too few livebirths to girls resident in Peterborough at ages under 14, 14 and 15 for figures to be provided separately without breaching confidentiality. Therefore, livebirths to girls aged under 16 have been aggregated in the table.
	Rates by single year of age at local authority level should be treated with caution. Population estimates are only considered reliable at local authority level when aggregated to groups of at least five years of age.
	
		
			  Teenage livebirth rate per 1,000 females by age, Peterborough Unitary Authority, 1997-2005 
			   Age 
			   Under 16  16  17  18  19 
			 1997 6 14 31 59 115 
			 1998 7 19 47 70 87 
			 1999 4 19 41 77 95 
			 2000 7 15 37 61 66 
			 2001 7 12 38 51 89 
			 2002 7 12 35 51 87 
			 2003 5 21 37 55 105 
			 2004 7 23 41 54 79 
			 2005(1) 5 19 41 65 88 
			 (1) Provisional rates, based on mid-2004 population estimates

Climate Change Levy

Anne Milton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been raised through the Climate Change Levy.

John Healey: Information on revenue from Climate Change Levy can be found on table 2 of the HM Revenue and Customs 'Climate Change Levy Bulletin', on the HM Revenue and Customs website: http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=climate

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam of 13 April concerning his constituent Mr. Paolo Standerwick.

Edward Balls: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Death Rates

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) death rate from heart disease, stroke and related illnesses and  (b) death rate from all cancers was among (i) people aged 65 and under, (ii) people aged 75 and under and (iii) all people, in each year since 1970.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 20 June 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the (a) death rate from heart disease, stroke and related illnesses and (b) death rate from all cancers was amongst (i) people aged 65 and under, (ii) people aged 75 and under and (iii) all people, in each year since 1970. I am replying in her absence. (78013)
	The most recent year for which figures are available is 2004. The table below shows age-standardised death rates from all circulatory diseases and cancer, for persons aged under 65 and under 75 years, and for all ages, in England and Wales for the years 1970 to 2004.
	Death rates 1 from circulatory diseases 2 and cancer, 3 for persons by age, 4 England and Wales, 1970 to 2004
	
		
			  Death rates( 1)  from circulatory diseases( 2)  and cancer( 3) , for persons by age( 4) , England and Wales, 1970 to 2004( 5) 
			  Death rate per 100,000 population 
			   Circulatory diseases  Cancer 
			   Under 65  Under 75  All ages  Under 65  Under 75  All ages 
			 1970 135.7 268.0 537.5 105.0 163.9 213.2 
			 1971 134.5 264.7 527.7 104.6 163.3 212.1 
			 1972 138.0 272.6 542.1 104.2 163.8 213.5 
			 1973 135.2 266.2 530.2 103.7 163.8 213.9 
			 1974 134.9 264.6 522.7 103.6 164.2 215.2 
			 1975 131.4 258.1 512.0 101.9 162.1 214.0 
			 1976 129.8 254.9 506.6 103.7 165.0 217.6 
			 1977 127.1 249.7 487.6 101.7 162.4 215.1 
			 1978 129.5 252.1 489.4 102.2 163.3 216.5 
			 1979 129.5 250.0 487.0 102.0 163.1 217.7 
			 1980 122.8 239.0 465.3 100.7 162.1 217.0 
			 1981 117.9 232.3 452.1 99.6 160.9 216.4 
			 1982 113.9 226.1 442.4 97.4 159.8 215.1 
			 1983 112.7 224.2 435.1 98.1 161.2 217.5 
			 1984 107.0 215.0 422.1 99.4 163.7 224.0 
			 1985 105.8 212.6 425.4 97.9 161.9 223.5 
			 1986 101.9 205.7 407.8 96.1 159.8 220.6 
			 1987 97.9 198.4 391.4 95.6 159.3 221.3 
			 1988 92.4 191.4 381.3 95.2 160.2 222.6 
			 1989 86.8 182.9 370.1 93.1 158.3 221.7 
			 1990 83.7 176.4 357.7 91.5 156.1 219.0 
			 1991 80.2 171.5 355.0 89.9 154.7 218.1 
			 1992 76.2 163.5 340.6 88.4 153.0 216.7 
			 1993 75.6 163.1 340.8 86.5 149.2 210.7 
			 1994 69.0 151.0 317.4 83.9 146.5 207.9 
			 1995 67.9 148.1 313.3 81.8 143.9 204.8 
			 1996 65.4 141.9 302.6 80.3 140.6 200.8 
			 1997 61.5 133.7 288.0 77.0 136.5 196.2 
			 1998 60.0 130.0 282.8 76.8 135.4 195.5 
			 1999 56.5 122.6 270.9 74.6 131.3 190.9 
			 2000 53.2 113.8 252.8 73.1 128.2 187.0 
			 2001 51.4 109.3 252.7 72.4 126.5 188.0 
			 2002 49.7 104.0 246.2 71.4 125.2 187.1 
			 2003 47.9 99.1 239.3 69.4 122.0 183.6 
			 2004 44.0 90.6 219.6 67.5 119.5 180.3 
			 (1) Rate per 100,000 population standardised to the European Standard Population. (2) Deaths from all circulatory diseases selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Eighth Revision (ICD-8) codes 390-444.1, 444.4-458.9 and 782 for the years 1970 to 1978, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 390-459 for the years 1979 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes 100-199 for 2001 onwards. (3) Deaths from malignant neoplasms selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Eighth Revision (ICD-8) codes 140-207 for the years 1976 to 1978, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 140-208 for the years 1979 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97for 2001 onwards. (4) Deaths of babies aged under 28 days are excluded from 1986 onwards. (5) Figures are for registrations of death in each calendar year from 1970 to 1992 and for occurrences of death in each calendar year from 1993 onwards.  Note: Between 1984 and 1992 a different interpretation of ICD-9 selection Rule 3 was used to code underlying cause of death in England and Wales to that used internationally. This change means that comparisons between this period and years before and after, should be interpreted with caution. The impact of the change on mortality statistics was analysed and reported in annual mortality publications in 1984 and 1994. *The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in 2001 also means that figures are not completely comparable with data for years before this date. Comparisons between the data before and after 2001 should therefore also be interpreted with caution. Articles specifically examining the effect of the change in classification for circulatory disease and cancer trends were published in Health Statistics Quarterly 22 and 23. **More information about these changes, as well as the results of the study, can be found on the National Statistics website at www.statistics.gov.uk/icdl0mortality. *Mortality statistics: Cause 1984. DH2 No. 11, pg viii-ix. Mortality statistics: Cause 1993 (revised) and 1994. DH2 No.21, pg xxv-xxxiii. **Griffiths C, Brock A, Rooney C (2004) The impact of introducing ICD-10 on trends in mortality from circulatory diseases in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 22, 14-20. Brock A, Griffiths C, Rooney C (2004) The effect of the introduction of ICD-10 on cancer mortality trends in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 23, 7-17.

Departmental Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will keep separate records of the amount spent annually on alcohol for hospitality purposes in  (a) the Department and  (b) his private office.

John Healey: The information requested is not recorded separately. The Treasury's expenditure on official entertainment is incurred in accordance with the principles of Government Accounting as well as the Department's own internal guidance, which provides that expenditure on official entertainment should be incurred in moderation and also be compatible with the occasion and the standing of guests.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in  (a) his private office and  (b) the Department are (i) under and (ii) over 55 years of age.

John Healey: As at 1 April 2006, 51 staff in the Treasury were 55 years of age and over, including one member of the staff of the Chancellor's private office. Of the 1,061 staff under the age of 55, 12 were working in the Chancellor's office.

Fixed-odds betting terminals

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how fixed-odd betting terminals are taxed in  (a) betting shops and  (b) casinos; and what estimate the Government have made of the tax revenue from such terminals in the last 12 months.

John Healey: Takings from fixed-odds betting terminals have been within the scope of VAT from 6 December 2005 when they were also removed from the scope of General Betting Duty. They will be liable to Amusement Machine Licence Duty from 1 August 2006. Fixed-odds betting terminals cannot be offered outside of a licensed bookmaker.
	In Budget 2006 we estimated that revenue would increase by 25 million in 2006-07 from aligning the taxation of gaming machines with the Gambling Act. This includes the increase in revenue from fixed-odds betting terminals.

Gambling Act

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the Government have made of the effect on tax revenues of the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005.

John Healey: The Government have not made an assessment of the overall effect on tax revenues of the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005.

Planning Gain Supplement

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many submissions have been received on the Planning Gain Supplement in response to the consultation.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 March 2006,  Official Report, column 2417W.

Small Change Big Difference

Anne Milton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department and its agencies have taken following the launch of the Government's Small Change Big Difference campaign.

John Healey: The Treasury and its agencies support the Government's Small Change Big Difference campaign.
	We have an on-site low-cost fitness centre, our staff restaurants have healthy eating options on menus, and we provide facilities for on-site low-cost therapies such as shiatsu massage.
	We support fitness activities run by staff such as a yoga club, running club, football and other sporting teams. There is an annual sports day in July each year. In addition we work with our occupational health providers to seek other ways of encouraging healthy living and will be holding a well-being day in June 2006.
	We provide a number of family friendly policies to promote work-life balance such as the opportunity for all staff to request varied working patterns and not just those who are statutorily entitled to seek alternative working arrangements.
	We will be introducing a smoking ban in the Treasury building before the end of 2006 and providing help-line contacts for those who wish to stop smoking.
	In common with other Government Departments we will continue to work with the Department of Health to promote further awareness of healthy life style options among our staff.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing six monthly fixed awards for tax credits; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: As the 2005 pre-Budget report stated (Para 5.23), the Government will continue to listen to the case for a system of fixed awards, but believe on balance that it is preferable to maintain the current system that flexibly responds to changing circumstances.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many calls to the tax credits helpline were  (a) received,  (b) handled,  (c) engaged and  (d) abandoned in each month from December 2005 to May 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I have already provided much of this information and would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 187W. Table 1 sets out the number of calls received and table 2 provides those figures for calls handled, engaged and abandoned that did not form part of my answer on 5 June.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  2005-06  Received( 1) 
			 December 1,306 
			 January 1,825 
			 February 1,489 
			 March 1,551 
			 April 1,592 
			 May 2,356 
			 (1) Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  2005-06  December  May 
			 Handled(1) 1,271 2,284 
			 Abandoned(2) 35 72 
			 Engaged(3) 4 6 
			 (1) Where the caller spoke to an adviser.  (2 )Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser but the call was terminated before the caller spoke to an adviser. (3 )Call attempts where the caller was played an engaged tone, before they were placed in a queue to speak to an adviser.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit overpayments have been written off in each quarter since April 2003 because HM Revenue and Customs could not reliably match the payment of manual cheques to claimants; what the value was in each quarter; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: For 2003-04, I refer the hon. Member to NAO report, 2004-05. This represented an estimated 134,000 payments made during 2003-04. HM Revenue and Customs has not written off any such manual payments made in 2004-05 or 2005-06.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations  (a) he and  (b) the Paymaster General have received from the Citizens Advice Bureau about the complexity of tax credit award notices; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Treasury Ministers regularly receive representations on various aspects of the administration of the tax credits system.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of  (a) the intra-year volatility of the incomes of low income households and  (b) its implications for the design of the tax credits system; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: To improve its understanding of short-term changes in income, HMT and HMRC partly funded research on income variability by Professor John Hills and others at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics. This was also part-funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The report, Tracking Income: How Working Families' Incomes Vary Through the Year was published in March 2006, and is available on the LSE and HMRC websites.
	The research showed that many families experience instability in their incomes over time and, while recognising the challenges posed by administering a responsive annual system, said that basing tax credit payments solely on previous levels of income would be rough justice.
	As the 2005 pre-Budget report stated (para. 5.23), the Government will continue to listen to the case for a system of fixed awards, but believe on balance that it is preferable to maintain the current system that flexibly responds to changing circumstances.

Tax Credits

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether overseas students, with the right to work for 20 hours a week, can claim tax credits; what guidance is given to tax credit staff to check that the limit of work is being observed; and if he will place in the Library copies of written guidance to staff on the eligibility of overseas students for tax credits and the checks to be carried out;
	(2)  whether asylum seekers with the right to work can claim tax credits; what guidance is given to tax credit staff on asylum seekers' eligibility; and if he will place in the Library copies of such guidance.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 19 June 2006
	Apart from specified exceptions, set out in the Tax Credits (Immigration) Regulations 2003, persons subject to immigration control, including asylum seekers and overseas students, are not eligible for tax credits.
	Guidance for staff on dealing with claims from people subject to immigration control is available on the HMRC website: www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ntcmanual/eligibility_residency/ntc0350000.htm.

UK Competitiveness

Phil Willis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps he has taken to improve UK competitiveness.

John Healey: The Budget report provided an assessment of all areas of the UK economy, and action needed by Government to provide the right environment for businesses competing in the global environment.
	The Government's strategy for advancing productivity growth is based, first on providing macroeconomic stability to allow firms and individuals to invest in the future, and second, on making microeconomic reforms to ensure that markets function efficiently and that barriers to productivity growth are tackled.

USA (War Debts)

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what war debt repayments have been made by the USA to the UK in respect of military assistance provided in conflicts over the last 30 years;
	(2)  how much, in today's prices, has been paid to the USA in respect of  (a) First World War and  (b) Second World War debt;
	(3)  what sums are outstanding in relation to war debt repayments to the US; and on what dates repayments are due;
	(4)  whether the USA has offered to cancel the UK's outstanding liability for repayment of Second World War debt.

Edward Balls: I refer the hon. Member to the answers the former Financial Secretary (Ruth Kelly) gave him on 30 October 2003,  Official Report, column 317W; 14 October 2003,  Official Report, column 150W; 28 February 2002,  Official Report, columns 1439-41W; the answer given by the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth) on 17 December 2002,  Official Report, columns 679-80W and the answer given by the Economic Secretary to my hon. Friend the Member for East Lothian (Anne Moffat) on 8 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 858-59W.